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The University of Utah Athletics
Friday, November 5
Salt Lake City
7:00 PM MT
University of Utah
92
vs
53
Foreign Exhibition
Utes Open Exhibition Season With Win Over Australian Club Team
11/7/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 7, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah opened its exhibition season with a 92-53 defeat of the Nunawading Spectres, a club team from Melbourne, Australia, on Friday night at the Huntsman Center.
A couple of sophomores led the way for the Utes. Phil Cullen had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the team in both categories. Jeff Johnsen, still playing his way into shape after a two-year LDS church mission, had a solid all-around game with 16 points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists.
Tony Harvey, who started the game at point guard, and Hanno Mottola had 15 points each. Harvey also shot 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from behind the arc. He dished out three assists and had no turnovers in 22 minutes. Mottola added eight rebounds.
Nunawading, playing the opener of a seven-game swing through the states, stayed with the Utes early. The Spectres jumped out to a 7-0 lead as the Utes missed their first six shots. But Cullen, starting in place of injured center Nate Althoff, scored seven straight points to get his team untracked. Utah led 46-28 at halftime and outscored Nunawading 46-28 in the second half.
Along with Harvey, the Utes are in the process of breaking in two other point guards to replace All-American Andre Miller, the only starter not returning from last year. Gary Colbert, a non-qualifier last season, had five points, two assists and three turnovers in 19 minutes. Trent Whiting, a transfer from Snow Junior College, had one free throw, four assists and six turnovers in 22 minutes.
Utah shot 45.8 percent from the field, 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from three-point range and 65.4 percent from the free throw line. The Utes also had a 44 to 32 edge on the boards and committed 13 turnovers for the game after having just four in the first half.
"What are you going to say (about the game)? It's so hard to tell," said Ute head coach Rick Majerus. "They were a dog team. They're probably nice guys, but they were a bad team."
"I don't have a handle on the ebb and flow of the team," Majerus continued. "I thought our effort was good, but why wouldn't it be. We shot bad, very bad from the foul line. Whiting, Colbert and Nate have missed some practice time with injuries. Trent's trying to learn two positions right now. It's tough to move between the one and the two. Colbert also had four 'good' turnovers."
NUNAWADING-AUSTRALIA
Flynn 1-5 0-0 2, Atley 1-3 0-0 2, Sahley 1-6 2-2 4, Bright 3-4 2-2 9,
Spears 12-18 3-6 27, Todorov 0-1 0-0 0, Ray 2-6 1-2 6, Cameron 1-3
1-4 3, Knowles 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 21-46, 9-17 53.
UTAH
Mottola 4-12 7-9 15, Jensen 3-7 0-2 7, Cullen 7-15 7-8 24, Harvey
6-9 1-2 15, Killion 0-4 0-0 0, Colbert 2-3 0-1 5, Sharp 1-2 0-0 3,
Whiting 0-4 1-2 1, Johnsen 7-12 1-2 16, Puzey 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 33-72, 17-26 92.
Three-Point Goals: Australia 2-6 (Atley 0-1, Bright 1-2, Spears 0-1,
Ray 1-2), Utah 9-22 (Mottola 0-3, Jensen 1-2, Cullen 3-5, Harvey 2-3,
Killion 0-3, Colbert 1-1, Sharp 1-2, Whiting 0-1, Johnsen 1-2).
Rebounds: Australia 32 (Spears 11), Utah 44 (Cullen 9).
Assists: Australia 11 (Ray 5), Utah 18 (Whiting 4, Johnsen 4).
A-12,130.
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