TUCSON, Ariz. — Freshman Stanley Johnson's 14 points led a balanced attack for No. 3 Arizona in the Wildcats' 87-56 win over Utah Valley on Tuesday night.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, Dusan Ristic scored 13 points and Gabe York added 11 for the Wildcats (9-0). Ristic and Johnson each had seven rebounds.
Utah Valley went seven minutes of the second half without a point, trailing 62-30 at the 12-minute mark. Arizona continued to pull away, leading by 34 points at one point.
The win gave Arizona 36 straight regular-season non-conference victories, the longest streak in the nation.
The Wildcats used a 12-0 run over 3 1/2 minutes of the first half to take a commanding lead, going from a 16-14 deficit at the 13:04 mark to a 26-16 lead a short time later on Parker Jackson-Cartwright's steal and layup.
The Wolverines (3-5) led 16-14 after guard Jaden Jackson hit a 3-pointer with 13:24 to go in the first half, but they never held a lead again. Utah Valley lost its fourth straight game.
Arizona's defense was the major difference, as the Wildcats forced Utah Valley into 17-of-47 shooting for the game and shut off the penetration lanes and got eight blocked shots.
An alley-oop from Johnson to Kaleb Tarczewski for a dunk with 6:24 to play in the first half gave the Wildcats a 34-24 lead. Arizona took its largest lead of the half on a 3-pointer from the right baseline by Elliott Pitts that made it 42-28 at halftime.
