Anthony Dell’Orso had 21 points — one of five Arizona players who finished in double-figure scoring — to lead the No. 24 Wildcats to a 104-71 victory Wednesday over Davidson in an opening-round game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Arizona (3-2) snapped the first two-game losing skid in Tommy Lloyd’s first four years as head coach.
Arizona will play Oklahoma, which beat Providence 79-77, in a semifinal game Thursday.
Dell’Orso was 5-of-7 from 3-point range and 8-of-11 overall, leading Arizona’s hot shooting performance.
Arizona made 56.5 percent (39 of 69) of its attempts from the field and 50 percent (11 of 22) from beyond the arc.
Caleb Love finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Trey Townsend had 17 points, Tobe Awaka finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Motiejus Krivas added 10 points while making all four of his shots from the floor.
Davidson (4-1) was led by Connor Kochera’s 20 points. Bobby Durkin added 15 in the loss.
Arizona trailed 16-9 less than six minutes into the game before it came on strong with its defense, interior scoring and 3-point shooting.
A 16-2 run that included four shots made by frontcourt players Henri Veesaar, Awaka and Krivas put Arizona ahead 25-18 with 9:42 left in the half.
Love also made a 3-pointer in that game-turning run. He went 1-for-15 combined from beyond the arc in his previous two games.
Arizona led 49-37 at halftime after shooting 58.8 percent from the field.
Krivas, Awaka and Veesaar combined to shoot 10 of 14 from the field in the half.
Arizona outscored Davidson 30-20 in the paint by halftime. The Wildcats finished with a 50-28 advantage.
–Field Level Media
