It was a relativ ely quietnight for the Utes’ usual star,but Bryant Markson andMarc Jackson made sure theUtes shined brightly Mondaynight in a 70-52 victory overUNLV.Picked to finish second behindthe Rebels (7-6) in theMountain West Conferenceby the pre-season media poll,the Utes (13-3) made a bigstatement on national televisionin the conference openerfor both teams.”It sends a message aroundthe league that we are forreal,” Andrew Bogut said.”We are getting better andbetter every game.”With Bogut held in checkoffensively through much ofthe game, Markson and Jacksontook the scoring burdenon themselves, both notchingcareer highs with 17 and 23points respectively.”They were doublingBogut,” Jackson said. “Thatleaves a lot of us open.”While the Utes’ post mencleaned the glass en route toa 43-18 rebounding advantage,it was the perimeter playersthat picked up the shootingslack. Jackson was 5-8 fromthree-point range, including4-6 in the second half.Whenever the Utes startedto flatline, Markson was thereto get the Ute heart pumpingagain. After leading the Utesthe junior swingman pickedup where he left off early inthe second.Ute point guard Tim Drisdompicked Rebel Jerel Blassingame’spocket and was offto the races. The result wasan alley-oop pass to a streakingMarkson. The HunstmanCenter crowd exploded whenMarkson not only slammed ithome, but was fouled in theprocess. He would add thefoul shot, giving the Utes a 7-point lead.Bogut would get into theact, scoring 6 in the secondhalf for a total of 10 points and15 rebounds. By the time theRebels finally took a timeout,it was too late, as the Utes hadrun to a 46-31 lead.The Utes got off to a faststart. After the teams exchangedturnovers, Drisdomgot the Utes on the board witha deep three pointer.The junior point guard hitBogut with a slick pass thenext time down the court andthe center laid it in for a 5-0Ute lead. UNLV would notstay down for long. ForwardAndy Hannan knocked downa three pointer, and four minuteslater, the Rebels took an11-10 lead after a Ute turnover.The game slowed downwith both teams going coldfrom the field until the Utesstarted to hit some shots witheight minutes to play in thehalf. An 8-3 run, capped by aJustin Hawkins jumper gavethe Utes an 18-14 advantage.Leading 29-23, the Utes gotthe crowd into the game on avery long trip down the floor.After running down the shotclock, Chris Jackson got theoffensive rebound under thebasket. Instead of putting itback up, Jackson kicked theball back out to the perimeter.Another rebound and anotherout-pass later, Jackson finallytook the initiative himself, layingup a Marc Jackson assist.The Rebels would add a foulshot and the Utes went in tothe locker room with a 31-24halftime lead. The Utes nowhead to the frontier, taking onWyoming and Colorado Stateover the [email protected]