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Tommy Lloyd celebrates ‘connected’ Arizona team after beating BYU
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- Tommy Lloyd celebrates ‘connected’ Arizona team after beating BYU
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After a blistering start to the season, Arizona basketball was in desperate need of a reset after two straight losses. Of course, those losses came against a pair of elite teams in Kansas and Texas Tech , but Tommy Lloyd would still have been looking to get his team back on track.
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On Wednesday night, Arizona did just that with an impressive performance to get a 75-68 win over No. 23 BYU . Arizona never trailed in the second half after a strong run to close the opening 20 minutes and survived a late run from the Cougars to improve to 24-2 on the season.
After the game, Lloyd highlighted the connectivit y of his team on an interview with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter.
"This is a connected group, and these guys are the driving force and u coaches are just here to support them," Lloyd said. "These guys are the heart and soul of a great basketball legacy at Arizona, a great community and university. I'm thankful for these guys. I don't know if they are thankful for me all the time, but I'm definitely thankful for them."
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Arizona also played this game without star freshman Koa Peat , who is out for the time being with a muscle strain in his lower leg. Tobe Awaka took his place in the starting lineup and finished with just three points, but grabbed six rebounds and was impactful on the defensive end in 32 minutes.
Lloyd and company got a big boost from their bench in this game, particularly reserve sharpshooter Anthony Dell'Orso. Dell'Orso poured in a team-high 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting, drilling four 3-pointers in the process. Starting point guard Jaden Bradley added a 12-point, 10-assist double-double in the victory.
On the other side of the ball, Arizona struggled to contain freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa , who scored 35 points. However, the rest of the Cougars scored just 33 as Kevin Young's group struggled to find a rhythm after losing Richie Saunders for the season due to injury.
This was a good win for Arizona to get back on track this season before a massive clash with No. 2 Houston on Saturday on the road. The two powerhouses are currently tied for the lead in the Big 12, and the winner will have the inside track to collecting the regular season conference title.
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