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No. 16 Arizona opens with win over Valpo

Nov 8, 2011 - 5:49 AM Tucson, AZ (Sports Network) - Kyle Fogg scored 16 points on 5-of-7 from the floor and pulled down four rebounds, leading No. 16 Arizona to a 73-64 victory over Valparaiso as part of the 2K Sports Classic from McKale Center.

Jesse Perry dropped 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Nick Johnson contributed 14 points and six assists in a 25-minute run off the bench for the Wildcats (1-0).

"Of the good things, Jesse Perry and Kyle Fogg, our seniors, played with the experience they have, and that's what we need," Arizona head coach Sean Miller said. "As some of the younger players are learning their role in college basketball, we are going to rely on Jesse and Kyle, and they really carried us tonight."

Arizona is off to a good start as it tries to build on a successful 2011 campaign, in which the Wildcats went 30-8, won the Pac-10 regular season crown and made a run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

Ryan Broekhoff paced Valpo (0-1) with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Kevin Van Wijk had 18 points and seven boards.

Arizona shot 11-of-28 in the first half and built its lead up to as large as seven, 18-11, with 9:10 to go in the opening half, but Valparaiso kept it close and trailed by only two, 32-30, at the break.

In the second half, Arizona scored the first four points of the half and didn't look back, outscoring Valpo 41-34. They allowed only three free throws until Matt Kenney sunk a layup with 11 1/2 minutes to go to make it 48-35.

The Wildcats extended the lead to as many as 20 with just over two minutes to go. Valparaiso got within nine with 24 seconds left, but were unable to get any closer as the Wildcats held on for the victory.

The victors shot 60 percent in the second half and 47.9 percent for the game, while forcing 18 turnovers and netting 18 points off those takeaways.

Arizona got 28 points off the bench, while the Crusaders' bench players only mustered nine points.

Game Notes

This was just the third time these two teams have met on the hardwood. Arizona won the other two meetings, a 90-51 rout in the 1996 NCAA Tournament and then a 74-70 decision in the championship game of the 2001 Fiesta Bowl Classic...Arizona's Angelo Chol and Valpo's Erik Buggs fouled out.