Poeltl scores 24, Utah beats North Dakota 90-53


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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jakob Poeltl scored 24 points, collected 12 rebounds and blocked five shots while Delon Wright added 23 to lead Utah to a 90-53 victory over North Dakota on Friday night.

Poeltl earned his second career double-double in impressive fashion. He went a perfect 10-for-10 from the field and was a disruptive force around the rim all night - blocking shots and snagging rebounds. Wright also shined offensively, going 7-of-8 from the field.

As a team, Utah shot 30-of-45 (66.7 percent) from the field. The Utes (4-1) earned win their third straight game and remained unbeaten at home.

Terrel De Rouen had 12 points to lead North Dakota, which trailed from start to finish. UND (2-3) shot just 19 of 58 (32.8 percent) from the field and struggled to contain the Utes around the basket. Utah outscored North Dakota 40-12 in the paint and out-rebounded UND 38-23.

Poeltl wasted no time taking over around the basket. He scored three quick baskets to help Utah surge out to an 11-2 lead. The freshman 7-footer scored 14 points to go with six rebounds by halftime.

#Box

North Dakota cut the lead in half on a pair of jumpers from De Rouen. Utah responded by scoring on four straight possessions to mount a 10-0 run and go up 21-7 with 9:56 left in the half. Chris Reyes sparked the run by making a jumper and then stealing the ball from De Rouen to set up a 3-pointer for Kenneth Ogbe on the next possession.

North Dakota chipped away at the lead from the perimeter. After De Rouen and Lenny Antwi made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, UND only trailed 28-23 with 3:12 remaining before halftime.

Utah started attacking the rim more frequently and was able to stretch the lead back out before going into the locker room. A layup from Wright followed by a 3-point play from Kyle Kuzma a few seconds later helped the Utes carve out a 37-26 halftime lead.

Jaron Nash scored on a quick pair of layups to cut the lead back to seven in the opening minute of the second half. That's as close North Dakota could get.

Utah used a 13-2 run - fueled by back-to-back baskets from Poeltl and capped by a 3-pointer from Wright - to take a 50-32 lead with 14:34 remaining. UND cut the lead to 56-43 on a layup from Estan Tyler with 10:24 left, but the Utes held their Big Sky opponent to 10 points over the game's final 10 minutes.

Utah led by as many as 39 points in the second half after Dakarai Tucker made back-to-back baskets to give his team a 90-51 lead with 1:07 remaining.

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TIP INS:

Utah: Junior forward Jordan Loveridge did not play as a precaution after experiencing knee discomfort. ... Sophomore guard Dakarai Tucker returned to the lineup after missing the team's first four games with a broken rib. Tucker finished with six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes. . Utah has allowed just 49 points per game over its last four games.

North Dakota: Turnovers fueled a huge portion of North Dakota's first half offense. UND scored 13 points off nine Utah turnovers to account for exactly half of the team's total first half points. . UND has now played all six Division I teams from the state of Utah. It is 8-14 all-time versus Utah teams with wins over Utah Valley, Southern Utah, Utah State and BYU.

UP NEXT:

Utah hosts Alabama State on Saturday night.

North Dakota plays Texas-Pan American on Saturday night.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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