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SALT LAKE CITY - Luke Nevill had a double-double and Johnnie Bryant was one of four other Utes to score in double figures as Utah rolled to a 92-53 win over Brock University of Canada in its exhibition season opener Friday night at the Huntsman Center.
Nevill, the returning starter at center, had 12 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes. Bryant finished with a game-high 18 points, hitting 7-of-9 shots and 4-of-6 three-pointers. He also had three assists and two steals.
Freshman Daniel Deane, the 2005-06 "Mr. Basketball" in Utah, led the Utes with 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Kim Tillie of France, another rookie, connected on 5-of-8 shots for 12 points.
Ricky Johns, the only senior on the team, had 10 points on a perfect shooting night in making three shots from the field and four free throws. Sophomore Shaun Green had a solid all-round game with 11 points, five boards and two assists.
Forward Jesse Tipping paced Brock University with 15 points. Scott Murray made 3-of-7 shots from beyond the arc and finished with 13 points. Brad Rhodes had 11 points and three assists for the Badgers.
Leading 5-3 just over three minutes in, Utah went on a 20-3 run over the next seven and a half minutes to break the game open. Bryant and Green hit three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor to put the Utes ahead 15-5. Then Bryant got a steal and made a transition lay-up to build the lead to 12 points with just over 14 minutes to play in the half.
Junior forward Misha Radojevic, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, made a nice up-and-under move to put Utah in front 23-6 with just under 10 minutes left in the half. Radojevic finished with seven points.
Brock got back to within 25-11 with 8:27 to play in the half after Brad Rhodes made a three-pointer. Then Tillie got the Utes rolling again with a couple of buckets.
Tillie drained a three from the left corner to make it 28-11. Then after Green misdirected a pass in transition, Tillie alertly grabbed the ball in traffic and laid it off the glass. On the next trip down the floor, Bryant made another three-pointer to give the Utes a 35-14 cushion with six and a half minutes to play in the half.
After leading 50-22 at halftime, Johns opened the second-half scoring for the Utes with a steal and a lay in. Then Green scored back-to-back buckets to make it 56-28 with just under 18 minutes remaining.
Thirteen players made it onto the floor for the Utes. Lawrence Borha missed the game while attending his grandmother's funeral. Luka Drca only played one minute before spraining his shoulder.
Utah shot 59.2 percent from the field and connected on 7-of-18 (.389) three-point tries. The taller Utes also had a 50-16 advantage on the boards. After committing 10 turnovers in the first half, Utah had just five in the second half.
The Badgers shot 31.9 percent from the field and made 10-of-28 (.357) three-pointers. Brock also shot 72.2 percent at the line.
Utah plays the final of its two home exhibition games against Montana Tech on Monday at 7 p.m. The Utes then open the regular season against Southern Utah on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Huntsman Center.
