As Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat was introduced onto the court at Mortgage Matchup Center prior to its game against San Diego State on Saturday, the freshman said it was very special to return to the Valley as a college player.
“When they announced my name in the starting lineup, I got goosebumps with all the crowd and the cheering,” Peat said postgame.
Peat played in his first game back in the Valley since his time playing for Gilbert Perry High School, where he won four state championships. He shined in Saturday’s game as Peat finished with 11 points (on 5-of-9 shooting) with five rebounds and an assist as the Wildcats bested the Aztecs 68-45 to improve to 11-0.
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Peat added that it was special to get the win on Saturday in front of family and friends, as well as the Arizona fans.
“It’s great to come back to Phoenix and come out victorious like that. Just to see the U of A fans in the stands and cheering us on it was cool to see,” Peat said.
Peat has started in all 11 games for the Wildcats this season, averaging a team-high 14 points (on 55.7 % shooting), five rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd commends crowd following win
Following the win, head coach Tommy Lloyd commended the Wildcats fans at Mortgage Matchup Center although he admitted the crowd was a little bit different than the crowds at McKale Memorial Center.
“The only thing I saw all night when I looked up there and people were drinking beer out of their shoes,” Lloyd said. “I was like ‘wow, this just got real.’ UConn’s $2 beer night has nothing on us.”
Lloyd said he and the program would be very open to returning to play at Mortgage Matchup Center in the future.
“It’s special when we come up here and we want to keep on building it and I think obviously we value our fans when they come out and the support we get up here,” Lloyd said. “I think there’s a lot more potential and we got to go back to the drawing board and figure out how we can make this a bigger and better event for the University of Arizona because it’s special.”
Arizona’s next game will be back at McKale Memorial Center on Monday as the Wildcats host Bethune-Cookman (3-8). Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
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