Montana Grizzlies vs Arizona Wildcats Match Player Stats On Dec 22, 2020

James Akinjo scored a team-high 18 points and hit key late free throws to help Arizona overcome a halftime deficit and a poor shooting night in a 70-64 win over Montana on Tuesday night in Tucson, Ariz.

Arizona (6-1) won its final scheduled nonconference game but couldn't shake the Grizzlies (3-5) until Akinjo made 6 of 6 free throws in the last 34 seconds. He also had five assists.

Jordan Brown scored 15 points for Arizona and made all five of his shots from the field. The rest of the team was 19 of 52 (36.5 percent).

The Wildcats made just 3 of 14 shots from 3-point range and struggled from the free-throw line for the second consecutive game. They were 19 of 34 against Montana after converting 12 of 23 in a loss at Stanford on Saturday.

Freshman post Azuolas Tubelis, who made his first career start, filled the box score with eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Montana saw its three-game winning streak end. Freshman guard Robby Beasley III, who missed the first six games because of a leg injury, scored a team-high 17 points in his second college contest. Kyle Owens added 13 points and Josh Vazquez had 10.

The Wildcats trailed 36-29 at halftime but came out with more defensive energy and chipped away at the deficit until they poked ahead 45-44 when Ira Lee hit 1 of 2 free throws at the 11:32 mark.

It remained a one-possession game for the next three minutes until Bennedict Mathurin threw down a two-handed power dunk off an interior feed from Tubelis for a 53-49 lead.

Tubelis later sank a key 3-pointer, hitting from the right corner for 64-56 advantage with 2:44 left.

The Grizzlies led most of the first half. Arizona made only one of its final 12 shots as Montana turned a 21-20 lead with eight minutes to go into a 36-29 score at halftime.

Montana dropped to 1-2 against Pac-12 schools this season, having lost to Southern California in its opener before winning at Washington on Dec. 16.

--Field Level Media