Kepkay shines bright in Utah's tough loss to Ducks

PORTLAND — The biggest bright spot in the Utes' 75-64 defeat Saturday was the play of guard Tyler Kepkay.

The junior college transfer from Vancouver, Canada, by way of College of Eastern Utah, had a breakout game, scoring 23 points on 9 of 16 shooting. He also came up with a pair of steals and led the Utes with three assists.

"I thought Tyler Kepkay was terrific today," Ute coach Jim Boylen said. "That's how I envisioned him playing when we recruited him. Toughness ... he makes two steals, he's on the floor, getting into the paint, shooting behind screens ... he got good looks and made them and got us back in the game."

Kepkay scored 13 points first-half points, including 11 in a five-minute stretch when the Utes went from five down to four ahead.

"I'm just getting more comfortable within the offense, taking what the defense gives me," he said. "I thought for the most part when we didn't run sets and were just playing the game and just playing off each other, we were getting open shots and things were happening."

FOUL DISPARITY: The Utes ended up outrebounding the Ducks 32-31, made three more 3-pointers and made just two fewer field goals. So what was the big difference in the game?

Fouls and free throws.

The Utes were whistled for 21 fouls compared to 10 for the Ducks and only attempted five free throws compared to 22 for the Ducks and it wasn't a case of a bunch of late free throws by the winning team as the Ducks had just three in the final five minutes.

"You can't shoot five free throws on the road and give up 22," Boylen said during the post-game press conference. "You just can't do that."

When asked about the foul disparity later, Boylen had to hold his tongue. He did acknowledge that perhaps his players didn't drive to the hoop as much as they should have, but he didn't believe they necessarily settled for too many outside shots.

NEXT YEAR: Even though Saturday's game was played on a neutral floor, 105 miles from Eugene, the Ducks will play at the Huntsman Center next year, not the EnergySolutions Arena.

"They needed a quality opponent for this game and we're a good draw as a nationally known program," Boylen said. "We agreed to it, knowing they are coming (to the Huntsman Center). I thought it was a heck of a deal."

WHAT IS PAPE'?: This was the 10th annual Pape' Jam game at the Rose Garden, home of the Portland Trailblazers.