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SALT LAKE CITY — There was little likelihood that Idaho State would come into the Huntsman Center to claim its first win of the season, but the Bengals weren't going to just let Utah have the win, either.
Utah battled a second-half Idaho State attack and had six guys finish in double figures to eventually pull away to claim a 75-59 victory to stay undefeated on the young season. In only his second game with the program, freshman guard Pelle Larsson led the team in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while adding three assists in the win.
Larsson, who subbed in off the bench, came in as a second-unit wave amid a low-scoring affair to open kick off an early 8-0 run with a breakaway dunk and establish the game's momentum. The freshman added two blocks, one steal and one rebound to help the Utes.
"It's very nice to have him get off to a good start," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "It's an indication that he's ready to play. It's hard to be a freshman, but I think he's got some great poise and strength and is making some nice plays for us. So, he's certainly ahead of the curve right now and playing some good basketball. So, it's a good deal."
Utah (2-0) got the win but allowed a second-half comeback by Idaho State (0-4) due in large part to poor rebounding and a lack of "discipline," according to Krystkowiak. The Bengals (0-4) outrebounded the Utes 40-24, with much of that gap being made in the second half. Idaho State managed 22 second-chance points on the night as a result and kept the game close.
"Idaho State, credit to them, they tried to keep their offense on the field a little bit — real patient team," he said. "They made us guard multiple passes, and we just didn't have the discipline to outlast them and finish a possession with a great blockout and a rebound. It doesn't feel very good to get outrebounded by 17 to anyone, but certainly that wasn't a team whose size or athleticism that came in here and should have destroyed us that way; so, it was a heck of an eye-opener for us.
"It doesn't feel really good. It's going to certainly be a point of emphasis moving forward."
Sophomore guard Rylan Jones said the rebounding effort needs to come on the "willingness to block out" and be determined to get the rebound. He said he expects to see improvement in that in the coming games.
"We all missed our fair share of blockouts tonight, I'm sure, and that's something we'll address in practice tomorrow and Thursday and Friday," he said. "We've just got to have more of a determination to go get the rebound, and the determination to box out our guy and go get it; and that'll come."
Utah entered the halftime break with a 21-point lead and looked poised to overwhelm the visiting nonconference opponent at home shooting 58.6% from the field. But Idaho State battled back and made it a 12-point game before Utah, again, built the lead back up to 23 at the midway point in the half.
Idaho State continued to challenge Utah and threatened to make it a single-digit lead. The Bengals got it back down to a 12-point deficit with only 1:30 left to play before the Utes staved off the attack.
In the end, Utah escaped and will enter its rivalry matchup against BYU Saturday in Provo with an unblemished record.
Utah had a balanced shooting night with six players scoring in double figures, led by Larsson. He was joined in double figures by Branden Carlson (13 points), Alfonso Plummer (13 points), Jones (12 points) and Mikael Jantunen (10 points). Allen, who was the team's leading scorer last season, added a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the game to become the sixth player to finish the night in double figures with 11.
Senior guard Tarik Cool led the Bengals with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range. The Bengals also outrebounded the Utes 41-24 to give Idaho State extra opportunities to make the game close.
Utah will travel to Provo to take on BYU (5-1) Saturday at 4 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv.
"We've got a long way to go," Krystkowiak said. "Finding an identity offensively and defensively, it feels pretty good. But Game 3 here at BYU is going to be a heck of a challenge for us, and we've got to be a lot better than we were tonight."
