TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brayden Burries scored 20 points, Ivan Kharchenkov added 14 and top-ranked Arizona overcame a sluggish start to rout Bethune-Cookman 107-71 on Monday night.
The Wildcats (12-0) remained No. 1 in this week's AP Top 25 after shutting down San Diego State on Saturday, but labored early on offense in the final game before their holiday break.
Careless at times with the ball, Arizona allowed Bethune-Cookman (3-9) to hang around until ratcheting up its defensive pressure midway through the first half.
Arizona used a big run to build a 14-point halftime lead and shot 57% from the floor to match its best start since opening 12-0 in 2014-15. The Wildcats scored 50 points in the paint, grabbed 20 more rebounds and converted 36 points off Bethune-Cookman's 22 turnovers.
Arizona point guard Jaden Bradley had 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Arizona is one of six remaining undefeated teams in Division I and has seven straight wins by at least 20 points, its longest streak since eight straight 20-point wins in 1929, according to Sportradar.
Jordan Johnson led Bethune-Cookman with 18 points.
Bethune-Cookman took then-No. 20 Auburn to overtime in its season opener and kept Arizona within reach early by forcing turnovers and hitting 3-pointers.
Arizona took control behind its defense, using a 14-2 run to go up 16 and led 49-35 at halftime.
Bethune-Cookman shot 12 of 24 from the floor and made five 3-pointers in the first half, but had 14 turnovers that led to 24 Arizona points.
Arizona made eight of its first nine shots to start the second half, stretching the lead to 71-49.
Bethune-Cookman: Plays at Oklahoma State on Dec. 29.
Arizona: Hosts South Dakota State on Dec. 29.
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Bethune-Cookman guard Jakobi Heady, top right, blocks a shot byon Arizona forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Thailand and Cambodia will resume talks later this week to work toward a more durable ceasefire along their border, Thailand’s foreign minister said Monday, stressing that progress depends on detailed bilateral negotiations rather than public declarations that internationalize the dispute.
A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by U.S. President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
While Cambodia has publicly said it is ready for an unconditional ceasefire, Bangkok never received any direct proposal and Thailand believed such statements were aimed at increasing international pressure rather than resolving the issue, Sihasak said following the ASEAN meeting that was arranged to seek ways to end the crisis.
The general border committee involving both nations will meet Wednesday to iron out detailed measures toward a lasting ceasefire, he said. Thailand appreciates the U.S. effort but “in the end, it’s up to the two counties to be ready and sort things out bilaterally,” he said.
“This time, let's thrash out the details and make sure the ceasefire reflects the situation on the ground and the ceasefire is one that really holds, and both sides are going to fully respect the ceasefire,” Sihasak told a news conference.
The border conflict escalated into deadly combat two weeks ago and derailed the agreement promoted by Trump, which ended five days of fighting in July. The agreement was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. The ceasefire was formalized with more detail at an October regional summit in Malaysia attended by Trump.
Meanwhile, fighting persists and both sides continue to trade accusations.
Cambodia's Defense Ministry in a statement on Tuesday condemned Thai aggression in its territory that it said targeted civilian areas. It said Cambodia wants a just, equitable and lasting solution to the dispute and demands that Thailand halt combat and withdraw its troops.
Malaysia, who is this year's ASEAN chair, said in a statement after Monday's meeting that ASEAN foreign ministers “expressed hope for de-escalation of hostilities as soon as possible.”
The Philippines, who takes over as ASEAN chair next year, said in a separate statement that it is prepared to assume the role of facilitator or mediator between Cambodia and Thailand if necessary.
The fighting has drawn international concern. The U.S. Department of State on Sunday urged both sides to “end hostilities, withdraw heavy weapons, cease emplacement of landmines, and fully implement the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords, which include mechanisms to accelerate humanitarian demining and address border issues.”
The fighting is a result of a dispute over patches of territory claimed by both nations along their shared border.
The latest round of fighting began Dec. 8, a day after a border skirmish wounded two Thai soldiers. Since then combat has broken out on several fronts, with Thailand carrying out airstrikes in Cambodia with F-16 fighter jets and Cambodia firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets from truck-mounted launchers that can launch up to 40 rockets simultaneously.
More than three dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in the past week of fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced, according to officials.
Under the October truce Thailand was to to release 18 Cambodian soldiers held prisoner and both sides were to begin removing heavy weapons and land mines along the border. But the two countries have carried on a bitter propaganda war with minor cross-border violence.
Land mine explosions have been a particularly sensitive issue for Thailand, which has lodged several protests after alleging Cambodia laid new mines that wounded soldiers patrolling the frontier. Cambodia insists the mines were remnants of its decades-long civil war, which ended in 1999.
“These were clearly newly planted landmines, and this was confirmed by the ASEAN observer team," Sihasak said Monday, calling it a “clear violation” of the October agreement.
The Thai navy said Sunday one of its marines on the front line sustained serious injuries to his right leg from stepping on a land mine.
The navy also claimed to have discovered a large number of abandoned weapons and explosive ordnance while securing an area described as a Cambodian stronghold, which showed “deliberate planning and intentional use of anti-personnel landmines” against Thai troops.
The Thai Foreign Ministry said it would send letters of protest to Cambodia and Zambia, the current chair of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, also known as the Ottawa Convention, to pursue further action under the convention’s mechanisms.
Cambodia did not immediately respond to the Thai claims.
Village security volunteer patrol while Thai military fires artillery towards Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Surin province, Thailand. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Thai resident cooks in a shelter while Thai military fires artillery towards Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Surin province, Thailand. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
FILE - Thailand Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 27, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith, File)
FILE - Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn is seen during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, July 10, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
