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TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona's towering European tandem had a big night Tuesday.
Wildcats 7-footers Dusan Ristic and Lauri Markkanen scored 18 points apiece, and No. 20 Arizona bounced back from its loss to Gonzaga with a 79-57 victory over UC Irvine.
Ristic, a Serbian who was two points shy of his career high, scored 14 in the first half and finished with 10 rebounds. Markkanen, the standout Finnish freshman, had 13 points in the second.
They are very different players with some shared traits, coach Sean Miller said.
"They are incredible kids," Miller said. "I mean, in the classroom, off the court, in practice, as teammates, love the game, two of our hardest workers. ... They're from the other side of the world. They're not going home for Christmas and yet they're really, really great kids."
The Wildcats (7-2) pulled away in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half and never were threatened again.
Jaron Martin scored 12 points and Max Hazzard had 10 for the Anteaters (4-5).
Rawle Alkins added 14 points and Kadeem Allen 12 for the Wildcats, who shot 54 percent from the field to UC Irvine's 38 percent.
After a sluggish start, Arizona ended the first half on a 15-3 run to lead 39-23.
The Wildcats jumped out to leads of 14-5 and 16-7, but Martin's second 3-pointer cut Arizona's advantage to 24-20 with 6:40 left in the half. Ristic scored four of the next six points and Arizona was finally rolling.
Allen scored seven and Ristic six in the run.
Arizona led by as many as 30 points. UC Irvine's only lead was 1-0.
Markkanen was coming off the worst shooting game of his young career, when he went 4 for 14 — 0 for 3 on 3s — in Saturday's loss to Gonzaga. He was 7 of 10 against the Anteaters, including 4 of 6 on 3s.
"I didn't think about the last game," Markkanen said. "My game is to let the game come to me, not force it. ... I'm not worried about my shooting. My self-confidence is still up. Nothing changes."
Ristic's game is close to the basket, and he shot 8 of 11 from the field.
"All the outside guys did a great job of getting the ball to me," he said. "And they (UC Irvine) played zone probably 80 percent of the game. A lot of times the low post was open and that is how I score the majority of my points."
Down to seven scholarship players, Arizona switched from its traditional man-to-man to a 2-3 zone for a time in the second half. Miller said he did it to give his team some rest. He might do it again, but not often, he said.
"The more zone we play, the worse we'll be in man-to-man," he said.
Anteaters coach Russell Turner thought perhaps the Wildcats' player shortage would work to his team's advantage.
"I thought if we played our style of basketball," he said, "played good defense and rebounded well, that we would have had a chance to keep this game close given their roster situation. But we weren't really able to maintain our focus on doing the things we said."
BIG PICTURE
UC Irvine: The Anteaters lost four starters from last season's team. They are big but not very athletic inside. If they expect to be competitive in the Big West, the Anteaters need to shoot better from long range. They went 4 of 20 on 3s against Arizona.
Arizona: The Wildcats needed a win, regardless of the opponent, after dropping two of their last three — to Butler and Gonzaga on neutral courts — with a tough game coming up at Missouri.
STILL SHORT-HANDED
With starting point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright sidelined by an ankle injury and the status of Allonzo Trier still unclear, the Wildcats go with just two scholarship players on the bench.
Jackson-Cartwright, whose right ankle remains in a boot, might not be back until sometime in January. Trier could finally have his situation resolved soon, but that's been said before. The school has not officially given a reason for his absence but it's apparently an eligibility issue.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine: The Anteaters face Pomona-Pitzer on Friday in their second home game of the season.
Arizona: The Wildcats play on an opponent's home court for the first time this season at Missouri on Saturday.
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