Just when you thought all was wrong on The Hill, the University of Utah met lowly San Diego State Thursday night in the second round of the Western Athletic Conference basketball tournament and made everything right.

The Utes beat the Aztecs for the ninth consecutive time, this time with the equivalent of one arm tied behind their backs. By the time the Utes were finished with the Aztecs, coach Tony Fuller was just happy the Utes spared his team complete humiliation, although 85-64 was certainly close enough.In a wrap, here's what happened: Darroll Wright returned from the Doghouse. Larry Cain returned from the infirmary. Josh Grant, Jimmy Soto and the other veterans took half the night off while the no-names from the student body earned their letter sweaters. Speaking of sweaters, coach Rick Majerus unveiled a new maroon crewneck and barely raised his voice the entire night; that's what a cakewalk this game was.

The Utes, 23-5 and counting, never trailed against the 8-21 Aztecs. They stretched a 48-37 halftime lead into a 25-point rout in the second half. By then Majerus had long since called off the dogs.

"I want to thank Coach Majerus," said Fuller. "He's a class guy. He substituted early. He didn't run it up. There were a couple of times near the end when they didn't even shoot the ball . . . Not a lot of guys would do that. Hopefully, one day I can return the favor."

Actually, Majerus wasn't being so much the humanitarian as the ever-practical, plotting coach that he is. His team was shaken after two road losses to New Mexico and UTEP last week, not to mention fatigued. The Utes' thin bench forces them to play their starters long, tiring minutes. Heading into Thursday's game against the Aztecs, Majerus planned to pace his players like distance runners, vowing to substitute early and often to keep them fresh for the rest of the tournament.

He did just that. Grant played 21 minutes, Soto and Phil Dixon 24, Byron Wilson 25, Larry Cain 12. All of them still managed to score in double figures - anywhere from 10 to 14 points - but the reserves accounted for 26 points, including a career-high 20 from Mark Rydalch.

Meanwhile, the subs' subs saw rare playing time. Jeff Connelly, Andy Tanner, Chris Jones and somebody named Cook - nobody, not even Majerus, knows his first name (it's David) - totaled 22 minutes among them and whiffed on seven shots. Who are these guys, you're wondering? They are four of the six players who heeded an advertisement last fall in the student newspaper calling for tryouts from the student body. They are the warm bodies Majerus needed for practice.

Majerus knows little about them, but, as a former walk-on himself, he appreciates their lot. "They're great kids," says Majerus. "Andy is going to be a pharmacist. Jones is going to coach. Cook is going to be a CEO someday. It's good to have them around to hire Byron and Soto and those guys."

Aside from that, the resting of the seniors was just what the doctor ordered, particularly for Cain. Hampered by a sprained ankle, he totaled just two points and six rebounds in last week's two games and didn't practice for two weeks, but on Thursday he was sharp again. He made five of six shots and finished with 10 points and five rebounds during his 12 minutes.

"It was the best of both worlds, because he needed to play," said Majerus.

"It (the resting of the starters) will definitely help us," said Cain. "I expect the CSU-UTEP (a second-round game that determined Utah's next opponent) to be close, and that their starters will have to play big minutes. We should be fresher than they are."

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Besides testing Cain's ankle, Thursday's game also marked the return of Wright, the team's top reserve, from a three-game suspension. Majerus waited until game day before he decided to play Wright, and after the game said he could decide differently next time.

"He might not play tomorrow," said Majerus. "He's evaluated on a daily basis . . . He's on a short leash."

Wright looked as if he'd never been away, totaling six points, five rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes of play.

As Fuller said, "They had all the cylinders going, and we had nothing."

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