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Balanced Attack Saw Utah Basketball Cruise Past the Tommies

by Utah Athletics
Nov 26, 2022

SALT LAKE CITY – A balanced attacked led by five players in double-figures saw the Utah men's basketball team bounce back Saturday night against St. Thomas 95-66 inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

 
The Runnin' Utes got off to a great start Saturday night, jumping out to a 20-9 lead at the 9:32 media break that was capped by a two-handed slam from Keba Keita to complete the 12-2 run. The Tommies slowly crept back and got as close as 32-24 with 1:38 left in the frame before back-to-back buckets from Marco Anthony and Branden Carlson saw the Utes head into the locker up 36-24.

 
Utah (5-2) ended the half with an exclamation point when head coach Craig Smith dialed up a play with .5 left on the clock that saw Carlson lay it in before the buzzer sounded.
 
A 5-0 run to kick-start the second half was all Utah needed as it pulled away by the 15:52 media break on top 48-30. From there, it was all cruise control for the Red and White squad as it combined to shoot 78-percent from the field in the second half – including a 7-of-9 from beyond the arc against St. Thomas (5-3).

 
Utah's bench gave it a lot of firepower, scoring 33-of-38 points in the second frame alone – led by Lazar Stefanovic's 12 points. Bostyn Holt had a great game off the bench, tying his career-high at the Division I level with seven points. Keita also had a great run in the second stanza, scoring seven of his nine points to go with six rebounds on 3-of-3 shooting.
 
Gabe Madsen led the Utes with 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep while Carlson added 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks on 7-of-10 shooting. Anthony added 13 points on five boards with four assists while Stefanovic chipped in with a dozen and four dimes. Rollie Worster rounded out the group of double-digit scorers for Utah, posting 10 points, two rebounds with seven assists.

 
BY THE NUMBERS
Utah had five scorers reach double-figures for the second time in three games with the other coming against Georgia Tech (11/21) … the 10 three-pointers and 20 assists Saturday night was the first time Utah hit both of those numbers was against Oregon State (2/3) last season … the seven turnovers was the first time since the season-opener against Long Island that the Utes were at the single-digit mark … Utah is now 4-1 this season when playing teams for the first time in program history … the seven assists for Worster was a season-high.
 
UP NEXT
Utah will have a few days to rest at home as it prepares for #14 Arizona to come into town next Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6:30 p.m. Ted Robinson will have the call on the Pac-12 Networks broadcast while Don MacLean serves as the analyst in the 69th match-up between the Runnin' Utes and Wildcats.
 
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.
 
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