UA HOOPS: Wildcats 87, Lumberjacks 70, final

Updated 5:10 p.m. -- It wasn't a work of art, but Sean Miller's first game at Arizona will go down as a W, 87-70.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 51-31 halftime advantage, thanks to some red-hot shooting (58 percent) and stifling defense (38 percent shooting for NAU). But UA got sloppy in the second half, with the Lumberjacks actually winning the final 20 minutes 39-36.

Arizona hit four of its first nine threes, but went 1-11 from beyond the arc in the second half, while committing eight turnovers.

NAU kept it competitive, thanks to Cameron Jones (29 points, 12-16 shooting), but it wasn't enough to overcome that big hole.

Ten different Wildcats saw the floor today, with eight guys seeing between 17 and 28 minutes.

Freshman Solomon Hill led the Wildcats in scoring with 17 points and pulled down eight boards. Hill was the big bright spot for the Wildcats today, especially considering that he'll be seeing more playing time as long as Kevin Parrom is out of action (stress fracture, left foot).

Nic Wise scored 15 points on 7-12 shooting, with Jamelle Horne notching a double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) and blocking three shots. Kyle Fogg added 10 poinits, while MoMo Jones, Brendon Lavender and Derrick Williams tallied eight apiece. Kyryl Natyazhko added 7.

Updated 4:10 p.m. -- It's all Arizona in the first half, as the Wildcats sprinted their way to a 51-31 halftime advantage.

The Wildcats hit 58 percent of their shots, including 4-9 from three. Meanwhile, the UA defense has stifled the NAU attack, limiting the Lumberjacks to 38 percent shooting (just 1-4 from 3-point range) while forcing eight turnovers.

You'll know the Wildcats are clicking on all cylinders when you see a balanced scoring attack. Nic Wise and Jamelle Horne lead the way with nine points apiece, followed by Kyryk Natyazhko with 7, Solomon Hill with 7 (and some brief flashes of his playmaking ability), Brendon Lavender with 6 (a pair of threes that swung the momentum late in the second half), Kyle Fogg with 5, and Derrick Williams and MoMo Jones with four apiece.

If UA does have a cause for concern, it's that NAU is only trailing by two on the glass, 18-16. Defensive rebounding will be an issue for this undersized squad, but it shouldn't be struggling on the glass against a team like NAU.

Of course, that's just nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking in this game. Arizona has looked terrific. After shaking off some early-game jitters, everyone on the squad is shooting with confidence and the freshmen are making their presence felt -- especially Hill.

Updated 3 p.m. -- Hello and welcome to the first official game of the Sean Miller era. In just a few minutes, Arizona will begin its 2009-10 basketball season against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.

The big news prior to tipoff is that sweet-shooting freshman wing player Kevin Parrom will be out for 6-8 weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his left foot. Parrom was likely to see roughly 10-15 minutes of playing time per game, so this is a big blow. However, the Cats expect to rotate anywhere nine or 10 players into each game, so Parrom's minutes will simply be evenly distributed.

As I was typing, Lute Olson just walked by and gave a kind wave to his McKale Center faithful. It's pretty cool to have a living legend in the house.

Northern Arizona finished only 8-19 last year and eighth in the Big Sky Conference. The Lumberjacks also lost 75-65 to Fort Lewis College in a Nov. 16 exhibition contest. They did, however, blow out Southwestern College 113-61 on Friday. Last year, these two squads hooked up on Nov. 30, with the Wildcats winning 74-57 in a game that was much closer than that final score indicated.

The Lumberjacks welcome Wyoming transfer Eric Platt. I'm a proud graduate from the University of Wyoming (class of 2004) and can tell you first-hand that Platt is a lights-out three-point shooter. He sat out last year due to transfer rules, but scored 26 points in only 20 minutes on Friday, including seven threes.

Arizona will have the clear size and athleticism advantages, but Platt can stretch a defense with his shooting. Keep an eye on NAU's 3-point percentage and Arizona's defensive rebounding statistics today. I'll have another post at halftime.