Runnin' Utes Cruise Past Vandals Friday Night

Friday, December 18

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

4-1,1-0Pac-12

Idaho

0-5,0-2Big Sky

Idaho

Utah

12/18/2020 10:17 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Highlights

The Utah men’s basketball team saw 11 players score on its way to a 79-41 victory over Idaho Friday night.

SALT LAKE CITY – A much needed offensive night for the Utah men's basketball team as 11 different players reached the scoring column behind a season-high 22 points from Timmy Allen in a 79-41 win over Idaho Friday inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Allen, who scored 13 of his 22 in the first half, was primed for a big night after draining back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minutes. Those 3's wound up starting a 12-0 run that ultimately saw the Utes take a 40-16 lead into the locker room.

Jones to Allen for his 2nd ?? of the night!

?? @Pac12Network #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/UjPf8cNR0r
— Utah Basketball?? (w/ ??) (@UtahMBB) December 19, 2020

Despite all the offense and defensive stops the Runnin' Utes displayed, nothing would overshadow the two-handed alley-oop jam by Ian Martinez with 3:48 left in the first frame from Rylan Jones. The freshman ended up with seven points and six rebounds on 3-of-5 shooting in 15:15 minutes of action.

Hey @SportsCenter, no need to work. @IanJumaine got you covered with this HAMMER?? ????#GoUtes x #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/xt68vLD1FS
— Utah Basketball?? (w/ ??) (@UtahMBB) December 19, 2020

Utah's (4-1, 1-0 Pac-12) offensive production didn't lose any steam at halftime and hit Idaho (0-5, 0-2 BSC) with another blitzkrieg, this time to the tune of an 18-2 run heading into the 11:58 media break. From there, the Utes slowly unloaded their bench.

Center Lahat Thioune saw extended minutes and pulled down a career-high nine rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Redshirt freshman Luc Krystkowiak made his collegiate debut with 4:44 left in the game before knocking down a pair of free throws to record the first two points of his career.

Allen finished with a game-high 22 points and six rebounds with a perfect 8-for-8 night at the charity stripe. Pella Larsson finished with a season-high 15 points to with a perfect 6-for-6 effort on the line as well. Jones did a great job distributing the ball, dishing out seven assists on the night – just the fourth time in his young career with seven or more assists.

.@rylanjones15 finds @timmybuckets35 AGAIN as he hits the FT to complete the and-1 for 18pts.#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/IY0UJJpga7
— Utah Basketball?? (w/ ??) (@UtahMBB) December 19, 2020

NOTEABLES
Utah is now 13-3 all-time against the Vandals and 12-1 when those games are at home … the 13 steals Friday night is the third time this season Utah has recorded double-digit steals … the Utes forced 22 Idaho turnovers to make it back-to-back games with 20-plus forced turnovers … the 46-36 edge on the glass was the first time Utah won the battle of the boards since the opener against Washington (44-43) … with his 22 points, Allen is now 31 points shy of becoming the 40th player to register 1,000 career points … the .281 opponent shooting percentage is the lowest by a Utah opponent since Mississippi Valley State shot .263 from the floor on Nov. 8, 2019.

UP NEXT
Utah now turns its focus towards conference play as it travels to Tempe, Ariz., for a Tuesday night bout against Arizona State at 7 p.m. (MT) on the Pac-12 Networks. Ted Robinson will have the call at Desert Financial Arena while former NBA Champion Bill Walton serves as the analyst.

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