TUCSON, Ariz. - Hassan Adams had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Chris Rodgers matched his career high with 17 points in No. 5 Arizona's 83-71 victory against San Diego State on Monday.
Channing Frye scored 15 and Andre Iguodala had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats, who took a 22-point lead midway through the second half during an otherwise sloppy contest.
Iguodala had nine rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the second half, several during a 15-0 run that put Arizona up 63-41 with 10:59 left. Salim Stoudamire scored six during the outburst and Frye and Iguodala added four and Adams made a 3-pointer.
Other than that surge, it was a sloppy, mistake-filled game that often had Arizona coach Lute Olson off the bench screaming at his players.
San Diego State scored six consecutive points to cut it to 74-62 on Brandon Heath's layup with 2:12 left. Adams made a 3-pointer to make it 77-62.
As has been the case for most of the season, the Wildcats struggled early. But they finished the first half with a 9-2 run to go up 41-31.
Aerick Sanders, who scored 16 during the first half on 8-for-12 shooting, hit a short baseline jumper to cut the lead to 32-29 with 2:50 left.
Rodgers followed with his second 3-pointer then Frye blocked Sanders' shot, leading to Mustafa Shakur's fastbreak dunk to make it 37-29 with 1:55 left.
Shakur scored on a driving 6-footer then Rodgers finished the run with a 14-footer to give Arizona the 41-31 lead, its biggest of the half.
The Wildcats' victory went against history for Arizona in what has been dubbed the "nightmare before Christmas" syndrome. The Wildcats improved to 7-14 in their final game before Christmas under Olson.
NO. 6 STANFORD 67, S. UTAH 37: Reserve Dan Grunfeld scored a career-high 21 as the host Cardinal remained unbeaten (8-0). Grunfeld, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, was 5-of-8 from the field and made all nine free throws. Matt Haryasz, another reserve sophomore, added a career-high 15 points and was 11-of-12 from the free-throw line.
The overmatched Thunderbirds had no players in double figures and were led by David Palmer's seven points. Stanford's starters mostly rested as their backups controlled the court, scoring 21 of its first 28.
NO. 17 SYRACUSE 101, COLGATE 63: Hakim Warrick had 17 points and Billy Edelin 14 and seven assists to lead the host Orangemen to their 38th consecutive victory against the Raiders.
It was the sixth consecutive win overall for the Orangemen and second loss in the past six games for Colgate.
The Orangemen, who held a 50-27 rebounding edge, outscored the Raiders 23-7 to take a 27-11 lead 7:15 into the game. Gerry McNamara opened an 11-2 run with two free throws and ended it with a long 3-pointer.
The Orangemen, who forced Colgate into three shot-clock violations during the first half, led 52-30 at halftime and began the second half with an 11-2 run.
NO. 25 VANDY 63, APPALACHIAN ST. 48: Reserve Mario Moore scored 19 as the host Commodores celebrated their return to the Top 25.
The last time Vanderbilt was ranked was Feb. 21, 2000. Its 9-0 start is its best since 10-0 in 1973-74, when it won the SEC title.
Appalachian State trailed by as many as 19 during the second half but went on a 10-0 run that got it within 55-48 with 4:42 left. But Moore made two free throws and a 3-pointer to make it 60-48.
