Arizona gets a solid road victory against North Carolina State, winning 72-62 and doing a better job on the glass in the second half. The Wildcats improve to 10-2. N.C. State drops to 6-4.

“It’s big,” Arizona’s Derrick Williams said of the victory on the postgame interview on Fox Sports Net. “They’re a great team. … Coming in here and getting the win is great.”

Williams had a team-high 22 points, hitting 10 of 11 shots from the free throw line.

* * *

Arizona trying to close it out now. The Wildcats lead 64-56 with 2:47 to play. Would be biggest road win since a 77-58 victory at Arizona State on Jan. 23.

* * *

Jesse Perry seems to have a nose for the rebound that Jamelle Horne has yet to develop.

* * *

Arizona’s defense keys its offense. The Cats grab a defensive rebound, push the ball up court and then finish with a running alley-oop pass from MoMo Jones to Derrick Williams for a Play-of-the-day-contending dunk. Williams reaches high and arches his back to grab the ball and throw it down.

On the next series, the Cats come up with a steal and an easy fast-break bucket for a 58-50 lead with 8:48 to play.

This team isn’t overly talented in the half-court game because its doesn’t have guys who can consistently beat defenders off the dribble. If the Wildcats are going to do something close to great this season, it’s going to have to start on defense.

* * *

Fox Sports Net’s Tim Brando just read a promo for FoxSportsArizona.com, which I have contributed to for the past several months. Problem was, my name was misspelled on the graphic (Jimeno? … Really?), and then Brando went on to butcher the pronunciation.

There goes my big moment …

Anyway, the game goes on and Arizona leads 48-42 with 11:59 left.

* * *

Arizona softball legend Jennie Finch on Twitter: “Cheering on the Cats & fellow LMHS (my HS too!) Alum & current Wildcat D. Williams #23!!!”

Finch and Derrick Williams are each graduates of La Mirada (Calif.) High School. Should we send a big thank you card to the school?

* * *

Back-to-back baskets from Jesse Perry give Arizona a 44-36 lead with 14:22 to go in the half. A couple of nifty assists from MoMo Jones in the half; there just haven’t been enough of them this season as he entered the game with only one more assist (25) than turnovers (24).

* * *

N.C. State grabs two more offensive rebounds early in the second half … good thing the Wolfpack can’t hit shots from 2 feet.

* * *

Sean Miller at the halftime interview: “Our problem had been when the shot goes up. We have to be able to defensive rebound. We can’t let the team get that many shots. Eventually, you can’t win when they do that to you when the shot goes up.

“What’s the solution? It really comes from within. It’s obviously about blocking out but it’s about really being tough and getting it, and that’s something we have to do a good job of if we want to win this game.”

* * *

Arizona leads 36-32 at halftime, but has been out-rebounded 27-17, with N.C. State grabbing 14 offensive rebounds. Remember, the Wildcats allowed NAU to have 10 offensive rebounds in the first half on Thursday night, but the Lumberjacks had none in the second half.

Derrick Williams has 11 points — and is 7 of 7 from the line — to lead Arizona’s scoring.

* * *

Derrick Williams shows his perimeter skills (again) with an explosive drive to the basket from the wing for the bucket and the foul. On DraftExpress.com, Williams is projected as the 15th selection in the first round.

* * *

Derrick Williams hits 2 of 2 free throws to end a 6-0 N.C. State run. Arizona leads 31-28 with 3:31 left in the half.

* * *

Kyryl Natyazhko hits a jumper with 6:43 left, which means each of the 10 players in Arizona’s regular 10-man rotation has scored.

* * *

With Jordin Mayes’ 3-pointer, Arizona takes a 25-19 lead at the media timeout with 7:44 to go in the half. It’s been a balanced scoring effort for the Wildcats — nine players have scored but nobody has more than four points.

* * *

Kevin Parrom drains a 3-pointer. That makes him 10 of 27 (37 percent) for the season. He was only 2 of 14 from behind the arc last season.

And it’s always a good to see Parrom grab a rebound and immediately take off with the dribble. No need for a point guard in transition.

* * *

That was not a blocking foul on Arizona freshman Jordin Mayes, who stood his ground in the lane. But N.C. State converts the three-point play at takes a 14-12 lead with about 13:30 left.

* * *

Arizona ended up being about a two-point favorite for today’s game after opening as a four-point favorite.

* * *

MoMo Jones with the unforced turnover in the early minutes of the game … check.

* * *

Two fouls on Jamelle Horne in the first 64 seconds. That means more time for Jesse Perry, who replaces him. That’s a good trade, right?

* * *

Derrick Williams averaging eight free throw attempts per game. He shoots two — and makes both — in the first minute of the game.

* * *

No changes in the UA starting lineup.

* * *

N.C. State’s standout post player Tracy Smith, who averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds last season, will not play today. He has been out since early in the season because of a left knee injury, and he had been hoping to return today.

* * *

This will be the place for our in-game analysis and commentary, and, as always, have your say in the comments section.

Will the Wildcats come to play today at North Carolina State … or will they be flat, as they have been in the past few games?

Will Derrick Williams, so talented and productive on the offensive end, show more effort on the glass and on defense?

Will bench players Kevin Parrom and Brendon Lavender get increasing roles after good efforts against NAU?

In the meantime, get your game breakdown from Javier Morales. He’s predicting a 75-70 victory for the Cats.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 19th, 2010 at 2:10 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.