Perhaps Louisiana State should have scheduled more road games before rolling into the Huntsman Center.
It was not a warm homecoming for former Ute assistant Trent Johnson as the Utes pummeled Louisiana State 91-61, giving Utah its 10th win of the season and fourth in as many games.
“It was an old-fashioned butt whooping,” Johnson said.
This was the Tigers’ first game on the road and it showed as they got rattled whenever the Utes made a run.
The Tigers, who have been known for their defense this season, couldn’t stop the Utes from scoring. The Utes shot 64 percent from the field, with four players scoring in double figures, including Luke Nevill who led the way with 23.
“It was fun,” said guard Carlon Brown, who finished with 17 points. “Luke started it off and we came together and finished it. He gave everybody else a confident boost?he’s our leader.”
The Tigers went into the game with a 12-1 record and a defense that looked like they could stop anyone. In this contest though, both teams came out of the gates firing in the first five minutes.
It was the Utes that came ready to stop their opponents on the defensive end of the floor. After the midway point in the first half, the Tigers couldn’t find their rhythm against the stingy defense that held the Tigers to 33 percent shooting from the field.
“We’re a great team defensively, we help each other out,” Nevill said. “We stop penetration and make other teams make tough shots, which sparks our offense. A lot of guys on the team play good defensively, we get a stop, then we’re off to the races.”
The Utes killed the game on the block against the Tigers as their size allowed them to get in the paint and put down 50 points compared to the Tigers’ 22.
Boylen reiterated that he sets a goal before each game for his team to win the rebounding game and make their opponents miss from the field and 3-point range. So far on this four-game streak the Utes have done that. Against the Tigers, the Utes won the battle of the boards 34 to 25.
“Our goal was to hold them to 35 percent (from the field), our goal was to hold them 38 percent from the 3 and we always try to win the rebound game,” Boylen said.
Utes guard Carlon Brown has become a go-to-scorer at the halfway point in the season. After almost recording a triple-double against Wyoming, Brown filled up the line against the Tigers. He had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals on Tuesday night.
It was a fitting win for the Utes to end their non-conference schedule in this fashion. They invited four big name schools into the Huntsman Center and were a buzzer beater shy of winning all four. Their only loss was a 3-point defeat that came to Cal back on Dec. 12. The players seem to be recognizing their roles on the team and it’s paying off.
“If (the opponents) take Luke away we’re going to use him in a different way,” Boylen said. “Carlon Brown is starting to understand who he is in our system, Tyler Kepkay, who he is when he comes off the bench.”