Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Nevada [Exh] on October 17, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
![Nevada [Exh]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/crop?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Futahutes.com%2Fimages%2Flogos%2FNevadaAthletics_Navy.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
Men's Basketball
vs Nevada [Exh]
![Oregon [Exh]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/crop?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Futahutes.com%2Fimages%2Flogos%2Foregon.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
Wednesday, December 20
Salt Lake City, Utah
7:00 PM
University of Utah
84
vs
62
Northwestern State
Rawson and Bibbins lead Runnin' Utes Past Demons 84-62
12/20/2017 10:06 PM | Men's Basketball
Both players notch career-highs of 25 points each
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah's Tyler Rawson and Justin Bibbins both scored career-highs, netting 25 points each to lead the Runnin' Utes (8-3) to an 84-62 non-conference win over the Northwestern State Demons (3-8) Wednesday evening at the Huntsman Center.
Rawson opened the game with a 4-of-4 effort from three-point range and Utah led 14-1 before the Demons registered its first field goal of the contest, which came at the 14:14 mark. The Utes would lead by as many as 19 points, up 26-7 with 11:16 to play, but NSU countered with a 16-7 run to cut the deficit to 10 points. Sedrick Barefield scored four of Utah's final eight points of the period and Utah would take a 41-26 lead into the locker room.
Both teams traded buckets throughout the majority of the first portion of the second half and NSU got back to within 13 points, down 64-51, before back-to-back three-pointers from Bibbins sealed the win for the Utes. He would end up scoring 13 of Utah's 14 points in a run that pushed Utah's lead to 74-56 late in the period.
Bibbins drained five three-pointers and scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half. He finished the game with seven three-pointers overall, which is tied for the second-most in a single game in school history. He is the first Utah player to register seven threes in a game since Johnnie Bryant did so back on Dec. 20, 2006, against Virginia.
Utah finished the game converting 15 of its 36 three-point shots on the night. The Utes would also convert .739 percent from the free throw line, knocking down 17-of-23 from the charity stripe.
Utah will break for the holidays and will be back in action nine days from now, opening Pac-12 Conference play on the road at Oregon. The Utes and Ducks are set to square-off on Friday, Dec. 29, with a tip-off from Matthew Knight Arena at 7 p.m. PT.
GAME NOTES
• Utah and Northwestern State met for the first time on Wednesday. The Utes now lead the all-time series 1-0.
• Utah moved to 5-1 all-time against opposing teams from the Southland Conference.
• Parker Van Dyke (5 points) and Jayce Johnson (5 points, 15 rebounds) registered their first starts of the season on Wednesday. It was Van Dyke's 12th career start, while Johnson started for the seventh time in his career with the Utes.
• Rawson, who finished the game with 25 points, knocked down his first four shots of the game, with all 12 of those points coming from beyond the arc. He finished the game with four three-pointers made, which tied his career-high for the third time.
• Utah drained nine of its 15 three-pointers in the first half. The 15 made three-pointers are third-most in school history and the most since draining 16 threes against Arizona State back on Feb. 25, 2016.
• Bibbins finished the game knocking down 7-of-10 from three-point range becoming the first Ute to sink seven three-pointers in a game since 2006. It was just one behind Johnnie Bryant's school record of eight three-pointers in a game.
• Johnson tallied a career-high 15 rebounds on the night, surpassing his previous career-high mark of 14 boards that he tallied back on Nov. 12, 2016. He is the first Ute to pull down 15 boards in a game since Kyle Kuzma registered the same against Washington last season.
• Utah led the game from start to finish on Wednesday. It is Utah's sixth win this season when leading wire-to-wire.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak
On the three-point shooting tonight…
I think they gave us that trap, the one-three-one half court trap, that they went to for about two thirds of the game. That presented us will a lot of opportunities, and a lot of the shots that were presented to us were good looks. We talked about it a little before the game, if we can start making some threes and continue to defend, things will go our way. Our eight and three record right now is not due to our shooting, so we were due for that type of game. Guys did a good job I thought, we spread the ball around and had a high assist rate, it was good and we needed it.
On being able to use more players from the bench with the injuries to other players…
It's always nice as long as you win. We've got a team that's a little bit beat up right now, so the timing of Christmas will hopefully allow them to get back on the court after we get back together as a team. It was a collective effort from our guys, we had a lot of guys jump out there and play minutes that they haven't been playing. We do need to get that starting group back, the health of the group is important and hopefully we start catching a break in that regard. Starting conference play in Oregon won't be easy if we don't have everybody back to full health.
On starting conference play…
Coming into conference play, I think we need to do a better job rebounding as a team. We're first in our conference in defending the three-point line, and first in the conference in scoring defense. There are a lot of positive things that I think are happening, defensively we are getting a good balance. I feel like our shooting numbers are going to come around as well, I think that tonight was a good jumpstart to that. I like where our guys are, we're third in the conference in RPI and also third in strength of schedule. We've played a number of tough games, and I think we're ready for conference play. For the most part, we can't say we are disappointed, I think we got what we deserved because we haven't played well enough. It has been kind of what you would expect, it could be a lot worse.
Northwestern State Head Coach Mike McConathy
On Utah's shooting …
They came out and were on fire. Eight out of the first eleven (three-pointers) they made. Second half, we went to the zone. We were able to trim that down and get a 14-1 run. Against any team, you are in trouble. Against a well-coached team, you are really, really in trouble. But they missed some and we got back at the halftime where we cut it to 10 or 11. Then they were able to score two quick buckets to 15 at the half. I felt like we competed. It wasn't very pretty. We are growing and getting better. You got so many freshmen involved. They are just so well coached and so fundamentally sound. But at the same time, there were some good things. Our turnovers were done. We actually had a couple at the end of the half with 13 when I subbed there in the last two minutes. So it was 13 turnovers before that. We did a pretty good job with it in that area. Larry Owens had eight rebounds. We were just talking about the difference between the game was the physicality on the inside around the bucket on Larry (Owens). Last night, he had a field day. He had 16 points I believe. Tonight, he can't muster but four. But he also had eight rebounds which is a good thing. He is pursing the ball. I thought Brandon Hutton did some better things. Darian Dixon came in and competed with six rebounds and added points. It was a much better effort from him tonight. Brandon Hutton isn't stacking up but I think his energy is good. He just has to continue to work to improve. Like I've told him, you hadn't played in two years. You're trying to get it all back in the first year you play. That is struggle there a little bit. But Iziahiah Sweeney was really strong and did a good job. Of course Tyler Rawson, with the 25 points, was just phenomenal. Going 4-6 from the three-point line. He must've been tired though. He did something we do. He hit the side of the back board. But the difference is he went and got the rebound and got the free throw line. That was a very heads up play, a very intelligent basketball player.
Rawson opened the game with a 4-of-4 effort from three-point range and Utah led 14-1 before the Demons registered its first field goal of the contest, which came at the 14:14 mark. The Utes would lead by as many as 19 points, up 26-7 with 11:16 to play, but NSU countered with a 16-7 run to cut the deficit to 10 points. Sedrick Barefield scored four of Utah's final eight points of the period and Utah would take a 41-26 lead into the locker room.
Both teams traded buckets throughout the majority of the first portion of the second half and NSU got back to within 13 points, down 64-51, before back-to-back three-pointers from Bibbins sealed the win for the Utes. He would end up scoring 13 of Utah's 14 points in a run that pushed Utah's lead to 74-56 late in the period.
Bibbins drained five three-pointers and scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half. He finished the game with seven three-pointers overall, which is tied for the second-most in a single game in school history. He is the first Utah player to register seven threes in a game since Johnnie Bryant did so back on Dec. 20, 2006, against Virginia.
Utah finished the game converting 15 of its 36 three-point shots on the night. The Utes would also convert .739 percent from the free throw line, knocking down 17-of-23 from the charity stripe.
Utah will break for the holidays and will be back in action nine days from now, opening Pac-12 Conference play on the road at Oregon. The Utes and Ducks are set to square-off on Friday, Dec. 29, with a tip-off from Matthew Knight Arena at 7 p.m. PT.
GAME NOTES
• Utah and Northwestern State met for the first time on Wednesday. The Utes now lead the all-time series 1-0.
• Utah moved to 5-1 all-time against opposing teams from the Southland Conference.
• Parker Van Dyke (5 points) and Jayce Johnson (5 points, 15 rebounds) registered their first starts of the season on Wednesday. It was Van Dyke's 12th career start, while Johnson started for the seventh time in his career with the Utes.
• Rawson, who finished the game with 25 points, knocked down his first four shots of the game, with all 12 of those points coming from beyond the arc. He finished the game with four three-pointers made, which tied his career-high for the third time.
• Utah drained nine of its 15 three-pointers in the first half. The 15 made three-pointers are third-most in school history and the most since draining 16 threes against Arizona State back on Feb. 25, 2016.
• Bibbins finished the game knocking down 7-of-10 from three-point range becoming the first Ute to sink seven three-pointers in a game since 2006. It was just one behind Johnnie Bryant's school record of eight three-pointers in a game.
• Johnson tallied a career-high 15 rebounds on the night, surpassing his previous career-high mark of 14 boards that he tallied back on Nov. 12, 2016. He is the first Ute to pull down 15 boards in a game since Kyle Kuzma registered the same against Washington last season.
• Utah led the game from start to finish on Wednesday. It is Utah's sixth win this season when leading wire-to-wire.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak
On the three-point shooting tonight…
I think they gave us that trap, the one-three-one half court trap, that they went to for about two thirds of the game. That presented us will a lot of opportunities, and a lot of the shots that were presented to us were good looks. We talked about it a little before the game, if we can start making some threes and continue to defend, things will go our way. Our eight and three record right now is not due to our shooting, so we were due for that type of game. Guys did a good job I thought, we spread the ball around and had a high assist rate, it was good and we needed it.
On being able to use more players from the bench with the injuries to other players…
It's always nice as long as you win. We've got a team that's a little bit beat up right now, so the timing of Christmas will hopefully allow them to get back on the court after we get back together as a team. It was a collective effort from our guys, we had a lot of guys jump out there and play minutes that they haven't been playing. We do need to get that starting group back, the health of the group is important and hopefully we start catching a break in that regard. Starting conference play in Oregon won't be easy if we don't have everybody back to full health.
On starting conference play…
Coming into conference play, I think we need to do a better job rebounding as a team. We're first in our conference in defending the three-point line, and first in the conference in scoring defense. There are a lot of positive things that I think are happening, defensively we are getting a good balance. I feel like our shooting numbers are going to come around as well, I think that tonight was a good jumpstart to that. I like where our guys are, we're third in the conference in RPI and also third in strength of schedule. We've played a number of tough games, and I think we're ready for conference play. For the most part, we can't say we are disappointed, I think we got what we deserved because we haven't played well enough. It has been kind of what you would expect, it could be a lot worse.
Northwestern State Head Coach Mike McConathy
On Utah's shooting …
They came out and were on fire. Eight out of the first eleven (three-pointers) they made. Second half, we went to the zone. We were able to trim that down and get a 14-1 run. Against any team, you are in trouble. Against a well-coached team, you are really, really in trouble. But they missed some and we got back at the halftime where we cut it to 10 or 11. Then they were able to score two quick buckets to 15 at the half. I felt like we competed. It wasn't very pretty. We are growing and getting better. You got so many freshmen involved. They are just so well coached and so fundamentally sound. But at the same time, there were some good things. Our turnovers were done. We actually had a couple at the end of the half with 13 when I subbed there in the last two minutes. So it was 13 turnovers before that. We did a pretty good job with it in that area. Larry Owens had eight rebounds. We were just talking about the difference between the game was the physicality on the inside around the bucket on Larry (Owens). Last night, he had a field day. He had 16 points I believe. Tonight, he can't muster but four. But he also had eight rebounds which is a good thing. He is pursing the ball. I thought Brandon Hutton did some better things. Darian Dixon came in and competed with six rebounds and added points. It was a much better effort from him tonight. Brandon Hutton isn't stacking up but I think his energy is good. He just has to continue to work to improve. Like I've told him, you hadn't played in two years. You're trying to get it all back in the first year you play. That is struggle there a little bit. But Iziahiah Sweeney was really strong and did a good job. Of course Tyler Rawson, with the 25 points, was just phenomenal. Going 4-6 from the three-point line. He must've been tired though. He did something we do. He hit the side of the back board. But the difference is he went and got the rebound and got the free throw line. That was a very heads up play, a very intelligent basketball player.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballCrimson Corner with Bill Riley - Eric Weddle
Wednesday, October 01
Meet the Runnin’ Utes Staff: Martin Schiller
Monday, September 29
Meet the Runnin’ Utes Staff: Erick Schork
Thursday, August 28
Utah Basketball | Team Together - Episode 2
Thursday, August 21