Utah Utes basketball: No drama this time as Utes cruise

After his team toyed with Southern University 88-48 Saturday night, Utah coach Jim Boylen didn't know what to think.

Did the the Jaguars clank so many shots because of Utah's defense or were they just bad shooters? Is his young team starting to figure things out with two victories since a disappointing loss a week earlier? Will the Utes have any chance when they play three nationally ranked teams over the next three weeks?

"I don't know if our defense was . . . they missed some shots they usually make . . . we've been working on defense a lot . . . at times I thought our defense was very good . . ." Boylen stammered after Utah's largest margin of victory in six years.

Boylen did acknowledge it was a tough game to play, especially after the Utes jumped to a 52-17 halftime lead and watched their opponent shoot an abysmal 13.3 percent in the first half.

"Last year, I needed to rest Luke (Nevill) and Shaun Green. This year, I need my players to play and learn and grow and get better," Boylen said. "It's a tough game to manage. You want to be respectful to them, but your team has to get better and grow. I struggled with it."

He certainly didn't pour it on the outmanned Jaguars, who already lost to Baylor and Oklahoma State by more respectable margins of 16 and 32 points. All 14 healthy Utes played, and none more than 22 minutes as the Utes let off the gas early.

Both David Foster and Kim Tillie could have easily had double-doubles, but Tillie didn't play a minute of the second half after getting seven points and eight rebounds in the first half, while Foster finished with nine points and nine rebounds in just 19 minutes.

Freshman Marshall Henderson led the Utes with 13 points, while Jordan Cyphers scored 12 off the bench, all in the first half. Carlon Brown had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Foster, Matt Read and Shawn Glover each scored nine.

This one was over early, as the Jaguars missed their first 11 shots, and didn't hit a field goal until the game was nearly nine minutes old. When it was 27-6, the Jaguars were just 1 of 19, and by halftime they had made a mere four of 30. Amazingly, it wasn't the worst half by a Ute opponent, as Bradley hit just 11.1 percent back in 1991.

In the second half, the Utes cleared their bench early, as the Jaguars cut a 50-point deficit of 81-31 to a more respectable 40 by the end. It was the largest margin of victory since a 48-point win over Savannah State in 2003.

Utah will play Seattle University Tuesday night at the Huntsman Center in their second game of the Las Vegas Invitational. Seattle should give the Utes a better game, having defeated Fresno State last week 85-84.

UTE NOTES: After being outrebounded in their first two games, the Utes won the board battle by whopping 53-27 . . . Luka Drca , who came into the game with 15 assists and two turnovers on the year, had seven assists and no turnovers Saturday . . . Chris Hines saw his first action of the season in the first half, while walk-ons Ricky Shoff, Tre Smith and Austin Robison each played several minutes in the second half . . . The Utes will play Illinois Friday night in Las Vegas and either Oklahoma State or Bradley the following night.

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