• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Lyons leads Arizona in easy win over UTEP

Nov 16, 2012 - 7:04 AM Tucson, AZ (Sports Network) - Mark Lyons scored 17 points and No. 12 Arizona was never threatened in a comfortable 72-51 victory over Texas-El Paso at the McKale Center.

Solomon Hill added 10 points and six rebounds for the Wildcats (2-0), who shot 48.9 percent from the floor and made half of their three-point attempts (9- of-18).

"Everybody can contribute and that's what makes us special," Hill said. "Everybody on our team is a player, so any given night anybody can be good. Other guys are going to step up, and that's how we play as a team."

Julian Washburn and Chris Washburn both scored 11 points and Jacques Streeter added 10 for the Miners (1-1), who shot just 36.4 percent from the floor in defeat.

Arizona scored the game's first five points and took a 10-3 lead on Lyons' layup in transition. The margin reached double figures at 27-16 on Angelo Chol's slam with about 5 1/2 minutes to play in the half, and Hill's trey made the score 30-16 with just under five minutes to go.

Lyons' three-pointer with just over a minute to go gave the Wildcats' their halftime margin of 35-22.

UTEP got within 39-31 on Streeter's jumper nearly four minutes into the second half, but the margin grew to 50-33 on Chol's jumper with about 13 minutes to go.

The Miners again clawed back, refusing to quit, and drawing within 55-47 on a Washburn free throw with just over eight minutes to go. The Wildcats didn't let it get any closer, quickly asserting their force and growing the lead to 63-49 on Brandon Ashley's jumper with about 4 1/2 minutes left.

Arizona cruised to victory from there.

Game Notes

Arizona has two games left on its season-opening four-game homestand ... UTEP has lost 12 of its last 13 true road games dating back to last season ... Lyons has scored 17 points in each of the first two games.