SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team took it out on Manhattan after its midweek loss and rolled the Jaspers to the tune of 96-62 Saturday afternoon in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Â
Utah's offense came out firing on cylinders and jumped out to an early 12-6 lead on back-to-back triples from
Both Gach before slew of baskets from
Branden Carlson put the Utes on top 25-15 with 9:09 to play on a lob from Gach.
Â
The Runnin' Utes (7-3, 1-1 Pac-12) continued to maintain its double-digit lead into the break (47-30), behind a .550 shooting clip and 4-of-7 effort from beyond the arc. Utah also assisted on 13-of-17 field-goals in the first half – which tied for the most assists the Utes have had in any of its last five games.
Â
Lahat Thioune feasted in the second half for Utah and scored 10 of his game-high and career-high 16 points Saturday in the second half to go with a perfect 8-of-8 night from the stripe.
Riley Battin had his best game of the season, scoring 14 points (season-high) on 4-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists to go with a 5-of-5 night from the line. Carlson added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists on 6-of-8 shooting while Gach chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists.
Â
As a team, the Utes saw 12 different players score in the contest while assisting on 26-of-35 made shots – 10 of which came from deep. Utah also finished the game shooting a .583 clip as a team and .556 clip from 3-point land.
Â
BY THE NUMBERS
The 55% (17-31) shooting is the best field-goal percentage for Utah in the first half this season … Saturday was the fourth time Utah has shot 50-percent or better in the second half this year … the 47 points in the first half is most in any half since Utah's Pac-12 Tournament opener this past March against Washington (51) … the last time Utah shot above .500 in a game was against Washington (.604) in the Pac-12 Tournament (3/10/21) …
Harrison Creer recorded his first career field-goal at the 1:12 mark with a lay-up …
Jaxon Brenchley had a new career-high in assists with three … last time Utah had four players in double-figures was against #24 USC (3/11/21) … the 34 point victory margin was the third time this season Utah has won by 30-plus points … the last time Utah hit 30-plus field-goals in a game was against Washington in the Pac-12 Tournament (3/10/21).
Â
UP NEXT
Utah will get some extra days to rest this week before heading to the Show Me State to take on the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, Dec. 18, at 2:30 p.m. (MT). Tom Hart will have the call in the fourth meeting ever between Utah and Mizzou while Jon Sundvold serves as the analyst in the SEC Network broadcast.
Â
For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at
www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram.
Â
###