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SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah men's basketball team showcased its 2008-09 squad Thursday night at the inaugural JimmyBall Scrimmage. The leading scorer in the inter-squad scrimmage was 7'2 senior center Luke Nevill (Perth, Australia) with 14 points, going 6-of-8 from the field and knocking down both of his free throw attempts. He was also the game's leading rebounder, pulling down seven boards.
"I thought tonight went very well," said head coach Jim Boylen. "I wanted our freshman to play in front of a crowd and I wanted to put out seniors back out on this floor. I think we are developing well in our depth and our shooting. Our goal now is to pull it all together, care for each other and keep working as a team. We want our running game to be more consistent, we need to execute and continue playing solid defense."
The squad split into a red and a white team, but by the end several players had put in minutes for both teams. Red defeated white on the scoreboard, 36-28.
Senior forward Shaun Green (Salt Lake City) went 3-of-9 from beyond the arc to register nine points in the contest. Sophomore forward Morgan Grim (Riverton, Utah) racked up eight points on 3-of-7 shooting with two made free throws, while senior guard Lawrence Borha (Staten Island, N.Y.) tallied six points, going 3-of-6 from the field.
Junior forward Kim Tillie (Cagnes-sur-Mur, France) also poured in six points on 2-of-3 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Carlon Brown (Riverside, Calif.) put up five points in the game and tallied three steals to lead the team. Senior guard Tyler Kepkay (Vancouver, B.C.) scored four points and logged two assists, while sophomore guard Tre Smith (Magna, Utah) added a three-pointer, three assists and two rebounds in his 18 minutes of action.
Four freshmen made their debut performances on the Utah floor, led by guard Jordan Cyphers (Wichita, Kan.), who knocked down two three-pointers to tally six points. Guard Jace Tavita (Brighton, Utah) was the leading assist man in the contest, tallying five helpers while also hitting a three-point bucket and adding two rebounds. Forward Josh Sharp (Highland, Utah) and center Jason Washburn (Battle Creek, Mich.) also saw significant action in the game.
The Runnin' Utes first game of the season will be an exhibition against Grand Valley State Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The first regular-season contest for the Utes will be a home contest against Southwest Baptist Saturday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. at the Huntsman Center.
Scrimmage Notes
-The format was two 12-minute halves with a running clock
-The Red team began the game on a 10-0 run over the first 7:17 of the game before Shaun Green hit a 3-pointer with 4:36 left in the half
-White team scored its first nine points of the game on 3-pointers by Green, Jordan Cyphers and Jace Tavita
-White went on an 11-5 run over the final 4:43 of the half
-Halftime score: Red 15, White 11
-With 5:14 left in the game, Morgan Grim hit a jumper to tie the game at 21-21
-White team never led in the game
-Ties: 2 Lead Changes: 0
