With the start of the Western Athletic Conference season just four days away, the Utah basketball team plays its final preseason game tonight at the Huntsman Center against Northern Arizona.
The Utes bring seven-game winning streak and an 8-2 record into the 7:30 p.m. contest against the 3-6 Lumberjacks.Northern Arizona suffered a 79-65 loss to Southern Utah Wednesday night after leading 38-34 in the second half. The Lumberjacks are led by forward Brad Snyder (15.3 ppg) and guard John Rondeno (10.6 ppg). Ben Howland, a former player at Weber State and longtime assistant to Jerry Pimm at UC-Santa Barbara, is in his first year as head coach.
Utah is coming off an easy 84-63 win over Cal-Fullerton Tuesday night. Keith Van Horn (20.1) and Brandon Jessie (14.3) are the only two starter scoring in double figures. Terry Preston, Ben Melmeth and Jimmy Carroll are the other starters with Alex Jensen and Michael Doleac expected to see a lot of action off the bench.
The WAC season begins Tuesday night when the Utes play BYU at Provo. The Utes follow with games at Fresno State Saturday and Air Force Monday.