Bruce Pascoe
 | Arizona Daily Star
Here’s what you need to know about the University of Arizona
UA was established in 1885, and its main campus is in Tucson. The Wildcats once had a live bobcat named Rufus as a mascot.
The Republic
Freshman reserve Dwayne Aristode had 18 points while hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers to lead Arizona to a 84-49 win over NAU on Tuesday at McKale Center.
In what was the first game between the instate cousins in four seasons — because UA coach Tommy Lloyd’s son, Liam, played two seasons for the Lumberjacks — No. 5 Arizona led for good after the first three minutes and were never challenged.
While Aristode poured in 15 of his 18 points in the second half on 5-for-7 3-point shooting, four other Wildcats scored in double figures. Jaden Bradley had 13 points, Motiejus Krivas had 12 while Koa Peat and Tobe Awaka each had 10. Awaka added nine rebounds while playing only 22 minutes off the bench.
Arizona shot 45% from the field and hit 9 of 24 3-pointers, dishing assists on 20 of its 25 made baskets.
Leading 46-17 at halftime, the Wildcats went inside to get six points from Krivas over the first four minutes of the second half to take a 52-19 lead. They went on to lead by up to 39 points in the second half while UA coach Tommy Lloyd mixed in starters and key reserves with grad transfer guard Evan Nelson.
Lloyd then played other reserves and walk-ons over the final few minutes but did not play Mabil Mawut or Bryce James. Neither has played in all three of Arizona’s games, leaving them eligible for an intentional redshirt.
In the first half, Bradley had 13 points and three assists to lead Arizona to a 46-17 halftime lead.
The Wildcats opened their scoring with two crowd-pleasing plays. Freshman guard Brayden Burries opened the scoring with a four-point play, hitting a 3-pointer from the left side while picking up a foul and making the ensuing free throw.
Then Koa Peat threw in an alley-oop dunk on a feed from Tobe Awaka, who had entered two minutes into the game after starting center Motiejus Krivas picked up a shooting foul.
That began a 10-0 run that put UA ahead 14-5 just over five minutes into the game, with Bradley hitting 4 of 4 free throws and Anthony Dell’Orso making a 3-pointer during the run.
The Wildcats went on a 16-0 run later in the half to take control of the game, gaining a 43-13 lead with 2:25 left after Dell’Orso hit another 3 and Peat scored inside off an NAU turnover.
UA coach Tommy Lloyd stuck with the same starting lineup he had over the first two games of the season, putting Bradley alongside Burries and Ivan Kharchenkov on the perimeter, with Peat and Krivas inside.
The fifth-ranked Wildcats (3-0) will go back on the national scene Friday when they will face No. 15 UCLA (3-0) at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.