This is a big game for us. It’s great to have a bounce-back game like that after the struggles in San Diego. That was tough. – Utah's Brekkott Chapman
SALT LAKE CITY — It didn’t take the 25th-ranked Utah Utes long to bounce back from Tuesday’s loss at No. 16 San Diego State. They scored early and often in an 88-42 win over UC Riverside Friday night in the Huntsman Center.
“We figured a few things out in the last couple of days,” said Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak. “I’ve made the comment to some people since San Diego State that it doesn’t really matter what you run offensively if you don’t screen. You’ve got to play hard on offense and I think that’s a little bit of a misconception in basketball is you assume the hard comes on the defensive end and then you just kind of run your stuff.”
Krystkowiak added that the San Diego State game was good for the Utes because they shut down offensively and didn’t really have a sense of urgency to play hard, settling for a lot of 3-point shots and missing a lot of screens.
“So that was a little bit of an eye-opening thing,” Krystkowiak said.
This time around things were different.
Kyle Kuzma finished with a game-high 19 points for Utah, while Delon Wright added 13. Jordan Loveridge and Brekkott Chapman contributed 12 and 11, respectively.
Utah raced out to a 48-21 halftime lead in the lopsided victory. The Utes shot 59.3 percent from the field in the decisive half, a vast improvement from the 32 percent accuracy they had in the 53-49 loss to the Aztecs earlier in the week.
Kuzma had 10 points at the break for Utah. Ten players scored for the Utes, who held huge advantages in points off of turnovers (19-2), second-chance opportunities (11-0) and points in the paint (18-8), during the decisive stretch. They also held a commanding 20-9 rebounding edge over the first 20 minutes.
UC Riverside was held to 29.2 percent shooting in the first half. The Highlanders managed to keep things close at 16-11 before the Utes pulled away comfortably by closing out with a 32-10 run.
In the second half, Utah extended its lead to 48 points. The Utes wound up making 29 of their 59 shots in the game, including 9 of 17 from 3-point range.
“This is a big game for us, Chapman said. “It’s great to have a bounce-back game like that after the struggles in San Diego. That was tough.”
The Utes (2-1) return to action next week with their annual Thanksgiving holiday games. They’ll host Texas-Pan American on Wednesday and then take on North Dakota and Alabama State when play resumes Friday and Saturday.
EXTRA STUFF: The attendance was 9,645. ... It was “Ute Proud” night as part of the university’s celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Activities included a Ute Tribe honor guard and a halftime show. ... This was the first time the Utes and Highlanders (Big West Conference) have met. ... UCR starting guard Nick Gruninger, who finished with a team-high 14 points, is a graduate of Davis High in Kaysville and Snow College. ... Utah junior Dakarai Tucker has yet to play this season because of a broken rib.
Email: dirk@desnews,com
Twitter: @DirkFacer