Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) – Kyle Kuzma finished with a game-high
19 points off the bench to lead No. 25 Utah to an 88-42 blowout of UC
Riverside on Friday.
Kuzma was 6-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range for the
Runnin’ Utes (2-1), who rebounded from a 53-49 loss to San Diego State on
Tuesday.
Delon Wright and Jordan Loveridge netted 13 and 12 points, respectively, and
Brekkott Chapman supplied 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three
blocks in the win.
Nick Gruninger had 14 points for the Highlanders (1-2), who were coming off a
70-69 loss to Sacramento State on Monday.
The Runnin’ Utes separated themselves with a 19-4 run, which Kuzma capped by
tipping in a shot for a 35-15 score with 4:46 to play in the first half.
Utah led 48-21 at the break and shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) compared to UC
Riverside’s paltry 29.2 percent (7-of-24).
Wright’s 3-pointer set the tone early in the second half and the Runnin’ Utes
pushed the lead to 34 points after he and Kuzma hit back-to-back triples for a
62-28 game 5:08 into final stanza.
Utah’s lead ballooned to 47 points down the stretch.
Game Notes
It was the first meeting between the two programs … Utah improved to 69-15
all-time against teams in the Big West conference … Utah finished the game
shooting 51.8 percent, while UC Riverside shot 29.1 percent.
