Utah made the most of its first home game in 19 days, as the Runnin’ Utes ran away with a 90-68 victory over a struggling Stanford team at the Huntsman Center on Thursday night.
3 takeaways
Top performers: Cole Bajema scored a career-high 21 points in leading four Utah players in double-figures. He made five 3-pointers and added four rebounds and a blocked shot.
The electric Deivon Smith had another triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists — the final assist with just over two minutes to play elicited a loud cheer from the crowd — Lawson Lovering also had a solid night for the Utes on both ends of the floor, with 17 points, five rebounds, one block and a steal.
Key stretch: Utah started off by scoring the game’s first seven points and eventually built an 18-5 lead. The Utes, though, really seized control with a 19-2 run over a six-minute stretch late in the first half that helped Utah build a 46-27 halftime lead.
Top stats: The Utes held a 12-2 edge in second-chance points in the first half and finished with a 20-9 advantage in that category. Utah outrebounded Stanford 40-29, including 15-7 on the offensive glass (it was an 11-4 edge in the first half).
Utah, which shot 49.2% from the field, also outscored the Cardinal 15-4 in bench points and turned the ball over just nine times.
The Utes held Stanford to 39.3% shooting in the first half, but the Cardinal shot 58.6% after halftime and finished 49.1% overall.
What’s next?
The Runnin’ Utes (17-11, 8-9 Pac-12) will remain at the Huntsman Center for their home final on Saturday against California (7 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Network).
The Golden Bears are coming off a 10-point loss at Colorado on Wednesday.