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Brown Has Half for the Ages Before Game Turns Ugly

Originally posted on FanNation Husky Maven | By Dan Raley | Last updated 2/12/22

Tommy Lloyd has done nearly everything perfect since taking over the University of Arizona basketball program.

Except for one little matter.

He couldn't keep Terrell Brown Jr. in Tucson.

Yet Lloyd will manage just fine without him.

The two passed each other coming in and going out the door during the UA coaching change.

On Saturday afternoon before a near-capacity crowd, the first-year Wildcats head coach and the former Arizona guard found themselves on opposite sides, getting acquainted in Alaska Airlines Arena.

Brown showed him why he leads the Pac-12 in scoring, shoveling in 24 first-half points before finishing with 29, an individual half rarely seen in the UW's old gym.

Lloyd, of course, responded with more than enough supremely talented players to go around for his fourth-ranked team to succeed, certainly enough to offset Brown's inspired 20-minute performance, and leave Alaska Airlines Arena with a 92-68 victory.

The game was interesting for a half. Yet Arizona once again reminded everyone why these games are 40 minutes.

Brown, a Wildcat only for last season before transferring home to the UW, scored all but 12 of his team's points before intermission. He did his typical put his head down and drive to the basket magic. He tossed up one-handers. For a time, everything went in.

Ten minutes into that opening half, the Huskies (13-10 overall, 8-5 Pac-12) were even coasting along with a 14-point lead at 25-11. Brown had 16.

However, it was too much to ask this persistent point-maker from Seattle to keep up his offensive heroics forever, especially without much help from his new teammates against his old ones.

The UW went without a field goal from Brown or anyone else for the next 10 minutes, settling for only seven free throws, and Arizona (22-2, 12-1) came back with a vengeance.

With 5:05 left to play before the break, the Wildcats caught up and tied the game at 28 on Azuolas Tubelis' follow-up of a teammate's miss.

The Huskies might have Brown in the lineup, but they can only dream of someday having someone such as a Tubelis, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound Lithuanian who had his way inside.

The Wildcats kept going, too.

The Huskies had no answer for Tubelis, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 10 of 12 Wildcats' points in one first-half stretch as the game shifted hands for good.

By halftime, the visitors led 45-36.

They put this one away shortly after play resumed.

Eight minutes into the second half, Lloyd's Wildcats were comfortably in front by 20.

Brown's scoring spigot effectively was slowed to a trickle as the Huskies fell farther and farther behind. He finished hitting 9 of 20 field-goal attempts and 11 of 14 free throws.

All that was left was for Arizona to run out the clock and Brown to try and pad his point total. A large segment of Wildcats fans voiced their approval.

With nine minutes left to play, the Husky crowd, overall the biggest in at least three seasons, begin to file out of the arena as this once competitive game had turned into an ugly rout.

Brown sat down with 1:43 remaining.

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This article first appeared on FanNation Husky Maven and was syndicated with permission.

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