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ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ was just 4-5 after losing 57-54 to UCLA on Dec. 14 but had little trouble in defeating Samford by 32 points on Tuesday and CMU by 53 on Saturday. UA shot 54.5% overall and set up 28 of their 36 field goals with assists while scoring 25 points off the Chippewas' 17 turnovers.

The win wrapped up ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s nonconference season at 6-5, putting them a notch over .500 heading into its Big 12 opener on Dec. 30 against TCU.

Up by 21 at halftime, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ went on a 18-2 run over the middle of the second half to put the game away. While Love built his 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting, center Tobe Awaka had his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

KJ Lewis added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench while little-used backup point guard Conrad Martinez 

Having played nine players in the first half, UA coach Tommy Lloyd inserted 7-foot freshman Emmanuel Stephen with 10:21 left in the game. Stephen made a layup on UA’s first possession after he came in.

Two minutes later Stephen dunked in a toss from UA forward Trey Townsend, giving UA a 73-32 lead and extending UA’s run to 18-2.

Lloyd began inserting walk-ons with 5:25 left and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ leading 78-37 and all ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ started played less than

In the first half, Love had 20 points while hitting 3 of 6 3-pointers to lead the Wildcats to a 44-23 halftime lead.

The first half was an extension of the groove Love found Tuesday in UA's 96-64 win over Samford, when he had 23 points on 7-for-14 overall shooting after a generally rough start to the season.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ followed suit, continuing to run a smoother offense against Central Michigan, shooting 46.9%, setting up 13 of its 15 field goals with assists and scoring 10 points off 10 Chippewa turnovers.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ led only 6-5 at the first timeout while missing six of its first seven 3-point shots but broke out of a 6-6 tie by scoring nine straight points, capped by three free throws from Love after he was fouled beyond the 3-point line.

The Wildcats later went on an 11-0 spurt to take a 29-12 lead with 7:39 left, after KJ Lewis dunked in a missed shot from Anthony Dell’Orso and then, after stealing the ball from CMU’s Anthony Pritchard, drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws.

UA carried comfortable leads the rest of the half with Love scoring six points, on a dunk and two layups, over the final two minutes before halftime.

After finishing nonconference play Saturday, the Wildcats will break for several days for Christmas before returning to prepare for a Big 12 opener on Dec. 30 against TCU.