Arizona basketball: Kobi Simmons shines vs. Michigan State

The 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats held off the No. 12 Michigan State Spartans 65-63 at the Armed Forces Classic in Hawaii.

However, things, at times, looked dim for the Wildcats. At one point, to begin the game, the Cats found themselves down 17-2, and it would have been safe to assume that it was going to be a long night. But low and behold, Arizona fought and scrapped its way to a two-point victory.

Of all the highly-touted newcomers on the Cats roster, it was one that came off the bench that really stood out in the season-opener. Kobi Simmons led Arizona with 18 points — 15 coming in the first half — and had one assist in a rather productive night. Simmons was also decent from the line, missing two of his ten attempts.

Also, one of the big areas where Arizona struggled during the exhibition games was three point shooting. Tonight, however, the team went 5-for-14 with Simmons drilling two of his three shots from this range.