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Williams, Budinger carry Arizona over Samford

Nov 23, 2006 - 5:19 AM TUCSON, Arizona (Ticker) -- Arizona turned to its youngsters to put away Samford early.

Sophomore Marcus Williams and freshman Chase Budinger combined for 26 points in the first half as the 15th-ranked Wildcats rolled past the Bulldogs with an 86-57 victory.

Behind last season's top freshman and this year's sensational first-year player, Arizona (3-1) continued to roll following a tough season-opening loss at Virginia. The Wildcats have beaten their last three opponents by an average of 22 points.

With Williams and Budinger hitting a combined 13-of-16 from the floor, Arizona shot 62 percent (21-of-34) en route to a 46-18 halftime lead. That advantage was never threatened as the Wildcats continued the sizzling shooting after halftime, finishing 58 percent (36-of-62).

Williams and Budinger both ended with 14 points on a combined 14-of-21 (67 percent) effort.

Mustafa Shakur also had 14 points and Jawann McClellan added 12 and nine rebounds for Arizona, which held a 47-21 advantage on the boards.

Although this was the first meeting with Samford, Arizona improved to 5-1 against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference.

Randall Gulina hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points for the Bulldogs (1-3), who shot 21 percent (6-of-29) in the first half.