SALT LAKE CITY — What's the adage? "A win is a win?"

In the Runnin' Utes case, the adage applied Saturday night, as Utah beat Northwest Nazarene in dominant but yet less than attractive fashion 81-37 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Kyle Kuzma led the way for Utah with 23 points and 19 rebounds on 64 percent shooting from the field. Junior transfer Tyler Rawson added 13 points in 17 minutes of play.

Here are three observations from Saturday's game:

Kuzma looks like a star

Kuzma excelled in almost every area of the game, save his three turnovers. Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak was complimentary of his forward in the postgame press conference, saying Kuzma provided energy.

"He was tremendous, offensively, defensively," Krystkowiak said. "I think we're going to be riding his coat tails a little bit. He's a captain on our team, and he's a real easy guy to cheer for."

Kuzma's 23 points tied a career high, while his 19 rebounds are the most from a Ute since Andrew Bogut's 20 caroms 11 years ago. Kuzma said postgame it felt good to face a new opponent.

"We got some jitters out as a team," he said. "We've been practicing against each other for six weeks, so this feels great. I had told myself I wasn't going to get hyped for this game, since I've been around, but this morning I was extra turned up."

Miscues a problem for Utah

In the box score, at least, it will look like a dominant win, but there will be much to improve on for Utah, especially in the turnover category. The Utes turned the ball over 19 times, seven above their season average last year.

Especially concerning for Utah was the play of Lorenzo Bonam. The senior turned the ball over seven times, five more than his average last season, while failing to hand out an assist. Krystkowiak said Bonam must step up his play for Utah to be good this season.

"It certainly wasn't his best performance," the head coach said. "I think he's perceived as probably one of those heads of the snake, as Kuz would be. So you're going to have to be good. You have to bring it."

The Utes as a team shot 45.6 percent from the field, and outrebounded the Crusaders 61-37. Still, for this young team to be successful, taking care of the ball is going to be essential.

Tyler Rawson will make an impact for the Utes this season

With newcomers David Collette and Sedrick Barefield unavailable until the end of the fall semester and the Utes' trip to Hawaii in December, every available, healthy player on the roster who can make an impact will get extended minutes. For Utah Saturday night, Salt Lake Community College transfer Tyler Rawson showed he can be a big help going forward.

The junior scored 13 points in just 17 minutes, making a nice 3-point shot and getting baskets in the paint. He also added two nice blocks coming from the weak side to energize the crowd.

"It felt great to be in this atmosphere," Rawson said. "I'm looking forward to playing against some of the best teams in the country."

Game notes:

• Northwest Nazarene shot 16.4 percent from the floor, and its 37 points are the fourth-fewest from a Utah opponent since 1982. The Crusaders were playing back-to-back, a rare thing for a college team after playing a game Friday night against Simpson University at home in Nampa, Idaho.
• The Utes shot 67 percent from the free-throw line, something that didn't surprise Krystkowiak, who said such a stat is common in the first game of the season.
• All 11 players dressed for Utah saw action, and all but freshman Marc Reininger scored.
• New Ute-commit Branden Carlson, a high school senior playing for Bingham High School, was in attendance at Saturday's game. Carlson is a four-star recruit and the No. 1 recruit in the state as rated by ESPN.

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Stephen Lindsey is a student at the University of Utah currently working as an intern with KSL.com in Salt Lake City. Contact him at th3sl3@gmail.com or interact via his twitter handle, @slthe3

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