Runnin' Utes start slow, pull away for 76-62 win over Utah Valley

SALT LAKE CITY — It's all about the finish.

After a slow start to the game, Utah erased an early Utah Valley lead, and built up a 13-point lead in the second half en route to a 76-62 win Saturday afternoon at the Huntsman Center.

The Wolverines made a late push to cut Utah's lead to 5 with just under four minutes left to play before the Runnin' Utes went on a 9-0 run to closeout the game and to push the lead back to double digits.

Utah's Lawson Lovering made the first bucket of the game, but Utah Valley (6-5, 1-1 WAC) went to work early as the more aggressive team to eventually build up an 8-point lead, 17-9, with 13:28 left in the first half.

The Runnin' Utes weren't as aggressive on the glass, conceding several rebounds, and struggled to make shots from the field at a consistent pace before Branden Carlson hit a 3-pointer to give Utah some life. Utah (8-2) rallied and closed the gap before going on a 7-0 run over 1:09 to take a 5-point lead, forcing Utah Valley to call a timeout.

Carlson, who had 14 first-half points and finished with 26, hit another transition 3-pointer out of the timeout to give Utah its largest lead of the first half and to set the tone for the remainder of the game.

"We weren't great," Utah head coach Craig Smith said. "A lot of that was Utah Valley. They're gonna have a great year; they've got they got a lot of good players. I thought they made it hard for us. We had some self-inflicted mistakes, no question about it. They really dictated out of the gate. I thought the first 9-10 minutes, they really took it to us and played with a ton of force; they were the aggressors."

The Wolverines closed out the first half shooting 44% from the field after shooting a blistering 67% for a good portion of the first half, and made just one of their last 10 field goal attempts before the halftime break.

And though Utah Valley challenged at times in the second half, Utah maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half.

The Wolverines were led in scoring by Caleb Stone-Carrawell, who finished with 12 points and four rebounds, with Tanner Toolson adding 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.

After a back-and-forth 36-hour period in which the NCAA's waiver system was called into question by a judge in West Virginia, Utah guard Deivon Smith got his first action of the season Saturday. The senior guard checked into the game for the first time with 10:57 left in the first half, with a hearty cheer from the Huntsman Center crowd.

Smith made his presence known immediately on the defensive side of the ball and swiped a ball away from a Utah Valley player, and then pushed the ball up court to a wide-open Cole Bajema for a dunk. Smith played only 11 minutes and accounted for two assists and a steal, but it was an opportunity for Smith to see the floor in almost a year.

"Honestly, it's been all over — a lot of ups and downs, of course, but just today, in the moment, it was just a great moment to be with my team," Deivon Smith said. "I had great support from the coaches, staff, players, and it just felt great to be out there.

"I didn't really know how to feel," he added. "I haven't played a game since last February. But just to come to a new home, a new place, and feel so welcome and see people that actually want to see me play, it was just a blessing. I'm super, super thankful for the moment."

Smith credited his transfer guard for the "professionalism" he's had this season, especially the last few days, and credited Deivon Smith for "some really good things defensively."

Rollie Worster and Gabe Madsen combined for 26 points as the only players outside of Carlson to score in double figures for the Utes. Worster nearly had a double-double, but finished with nine assists and four rebounds.

Utah closes out its nonconference slate Wednesday with a home contest against Bellarmine (7 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks) before opening up Pac-12 play against Washington State at the Huntsman Center on Dec. 29 (6:30 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks).

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