Boylen particularly pleased with Utes' progress

After a 66-54 victory over Missouri State on Saturday afternoon, Utah coach Jim Boylen said his team took a big step forward.

While Boylen was quick to praise center Luke Nevill for his 18 points and six rebounds, it was point guard Tyler Kepkay who salted the victory away from the free-throw line. The junior college transfer went a perfect eight-for-eight in the final minutes of the game to ice the win for Utah.

"With all the time I put in at practice, I expect myself to hit every free throw I take," Kepkay said.

The guard, who whispers his father's name to himself before shooting free throws, was automatic from the charity stripe. Kepkay said it helps him focus and stay relaxed at the line. The Utes may have to think about adopting Kepkay's free-throw strategy because the cold-shooting and turnover-prone Utes nearly coughed-up a 17-point lead in the second half.

When Missouri State swingman Chris Cooks converted on a baseline layup, it cut the Utes' lead to six with 11:45 to play.

Kepkay quickly answered the Bears' run with a huge 3-pointer to give his team some breathing room.

"That's just the way basketball games go. ... They go up and down," Kepkay said.

The former College of Eastern Utah guard scored 16 points and dished out three assists in the Utes' victory. Kepkay continues his strong play after a week off. In a loss at Oregon, the junior led the team with 23 points.

Boylen said he's encouraged to see the guard make the transition from a rough-around-the-edges gamer to a true point guard.

"He's getting better at knowing when to score and when to pass," the Utes' coach said. "He's becoming a guard, he's becoming a scorer, instead of a tough kid that plays basketball."

After a sluggish start to Saturday's game, Kepkay and running mate Lawrence Borha helped break open a close game. With 12 minutes to play in the first half, Utah was clinging to a one-point lead at 10-9. Three-pointers from Kepkay and Borha — along with two easy Nevill hoops — highlighted a 16-4 Utah run. Boylen pointed to the improving play of Borha as another reason why the Utes were able to jump out to a 37-20 halftime lead. Borha played 27 minutes and impacted the game by scoring 9 points and collecting four assists.

But it was Borha's three turnovers in the opening minutes of the game that got his coaches attention. "Coach calmed me down and said, 'LB, you have got to play," the Ute guard said.

"Lawrence is a good player. But when he plays under control and disciplined, he can very good," Boylen said.

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