UC falls short against No. 14 Arizona; OSU see you next for the Bearcats

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo finished with double-doubles and No. 14 Arizona shot nearly 80 percent in the second half to beat Cincinnati 101-93 on Monday night, capping Day 1 of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

The loss sets up a 5 p.m. game today for Cincinnati against the Ohio State Powerhouse.

Tubelis finished with 30 points on 12 of 18 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for Arizona (4-0). Ballo tied his career high with 21 points. Ballo sank 8 of 11 shots from the floor but only 5 of 10 from the free throw line. The 7-footer added 10 rebounds.

Landers Nolley II hit a 3-pointer for Cincinnati to open the scoring. The lead changed hands six times until Cedric Henderson buried a 3-pointer to give Arizona a 14-13 lead with 13:43 left in the first half.

Tubelis helped Arizona stay ahead, scoring 10 of 14 first-half points from there as the Wildcats took a 40-24 lead with 2:59 left. The Bearcats closed with a 6-0 run to go under 10 at halftime.

Cincinnati (3-2) stayed in the game making 13 of 19 3-pointers in the second half. The Bearcats got under seven points on three occasions, the last at 81-74 with 5:29 left on a Mika Adams-Woods 3-pointer. But Courtney Ramey scored seven points in a 12-3 run over the next 2:06 and the Wildcats held off the rally.

Ramey scored 14 of his 17 second-half points for Arizona. Kerr Kriisa had 11 points and seven assists.

Nolley scored 23 of his career-high 33 points after intermission for Cincinnati. He had 9 of 14 shots from beyond the arc, including 7 of 10 in the second half. Viktor Lakhin finished with 17 points, while Adams-Woods hit three 3-pointers and scored 11.

Arizona came in shooting 63% from the floor, the best in the nation. The Wildcats shot 23 of 29 (79.3%) in the second half and shot 62.3% (38 of 61) for the game. Cincinnati shot 63% overall in the second half and 47% for the game. The Bearcats have gone 17 of 34 games from range.

Arizona will face 17th-ranked San Diego State in a semifinal on Tuesday. No. 10 Creighton (5-0) faces No. 9 Arkansas (4-0) in the other semifinal.

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Cincinnati guard David DeJulius (5) chases down Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) meets Cincinnati forward Jarrett Hensley (32) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)