Role players get big role as UA routs Bryant

TUCSON -- For Arizona, not every team will be Bryant. Not every game will see Arizona play everyone. Not every game will see five Arizona players score in double figures. And it won't be every game -- or even often -- that senior Brendon Lavender lead the way with 18 points. All of that -- and more -- happened in Arizonas 100-60 win over Bryant on Thursday in Arizonas pre-Christmas game. Thursday night was Arizonas snow day, a time to have fun and enjoy a relatively easy outing before the tension of the Pac-12 race begins next week. The win helped UA move to 9-4 overall. This is the first time Ive scored 18 points here at Arizona, said Lavender, whose previous career high was 16 against Colorado two years ago. Its a pretty cool feeling. We definitely needed a game like this. It felt good. Im happy for everyone else. Especially for guys like Alex Jacobson, who made a rare appearance (only his second this season) and hit a shot for his first points of the season. And guys like Dondre Wise, who played four minutes, Robert Arvizu, who played three minutes, and Max Wiepking, who played four minutes and had a point. Its not clear if the loudest applause occurred when Jacobson hit his 15-foot jumper with Arizona up more than 30 points or when Wiepking hit a free throw with UA up by 41. It was great, said Kevin Parrom, who had 11 points and five rebounds. I wanted to be in there when Tree (Jacobson) and Max were in there. I wanted to make sure theyd get their bucket. 'Tis the season of giving -- and enjoying. The only ones who didnt have a good time were the Bulldogs. The atmosphere was crazy, said Bryant's Corey Maynard, who had a game-high 22 points. It was one of the craziest weve ever played in -- home court or away. Forty-point blowouts tend to do that. It also helped Sean Miller play the role of Saint Nick. Miller gave the gift of playing time in Arizonas biggest win (by margin) since beating Southern California 105-61 in 2001 behind the likes of Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson and Luke Walton. To be sure, Wiepking, Wise and Arvizu wont ever be confused with the other three. But ... They impact what you do, Miller said of his walk-ons. You have no idea when you practice 100 times and youre together (overall) for nine months how important it is that you have a lot of different kids who give great effort and have a great attitude and who are about winning. Miller said the same about Lavender, who went into the game averaging just 2.8 points per game. It had taken six games (all previous to Thursday) to accumulate 18 total points for Lavender this season. He was averaging just 9.5 minutes a game. Hopefully I can increase my role, Lavender said. That may or may not happen. But Miller did appreciate Lavender scoring 18 points in 11 minutes. Its an amazing accomplishment, Miller said. Im glad that happened for him. What it pointed out to Miller -- not that he didnt already know -- was that if Arizona is to get better and compete for a Pac-12 title, the bench will have to play a bigger role. Lavender is one of those bench guys. So are Parrom, freshman Josiah Turner and freshman Angelo Chol. We need to have a team of depth and a lot of moving parts where, on any given night, we can generate good plays on offense, Miller said. We play 10 players every day and every game. Id like think as the season grows, that will be more to our advantage. To Lavenders credit, he knows his role and goes about his business. Miller said hes a great teammate. Lavender also knows he has one thing to do when he goes in: hit shots. He went in hitting 50 percent of his 3-point attempts (9 for 18) and 11 for 22 overall. Thats my job, and thats what Ive been doing the last couple of years, Lavender said of coming off the bench and trying to provide a spark. Im ready whenever I get into the game. Coach tells me to be ready. Ditto for Jacobson, who had played in only one game this season because of back problems, matchup problems and, well, just not being ready. On Thursday, like everyone else, he was. I feel good, Jacobson said. Im keeping my spirit up. You just have to be ready for every game. Bryant fell to 1-11 overall as UA got an early Christmas gift for its role players. They make our every day program better because of their character, Miller said of Lavender, Jacobson and the reserves. They want to win and are at Arizona for all the right reasons. Tonight it was about them as much as anything.