The 13-0 Utah football team was honored at halftime.
It must have been good karma for the Runnin’ Utes, who are now tied with TCU atop the Mountain West Conference at 3-1 after running Colorado State out of the Huntsman Center, 82-66.
The Utes, who at one point were in second to last place in the MWC, have climbed the ranks past BYU and San Diego State after impressive consecutive outings against Air Force and CSU.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve never been in first place in anything,” said Ute guard Lawrence Borha. “It’s a good feeling and we just need to stay on top, get some road wins, keep on it at home and we’ll be good.”
The Utes held the Rams to 30 percent shooting in the second half en route to the 16-point victory. After a rather bleak first half, the Utes and Rams were all knotted up at 35 points a piece.
Head coach Jim Boylen stayed positive but unimpressed in the locker room at halftime and the Utes came out a different team in the second half.
“(Coach) was upset that we were giving them easy looks,” said forward Shaun Green. “But (Boylen) said it was 0-0 again so just come out and we’ve been a second half team all year.”
Boylen said postgame that if guards Borha and Tyler Kepkay make shots, the Utes are a very good team. Both were the difference-makers Saturday night.
With two minutes and 33 seconds left in the game and Utah up by seven, Borha knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers against the Rams’ zone. He finished the game with a game-high 20 points and was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Along with having a great game offensively, Borha shut down the Rams’ leading scorer Marcus Walker, who scored nine points on 2-of-11 shooting against the Utes. Coming into the game he was averaging 15 points per game.
“Lawrence Borha8212;best defender in the league,” Boylen said. “I thought what he did on Walker in the second half set the tone.”
Kepkay sparked the offense in the first half scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. His biggest shot was a 3-pointer to put the Utes up 32-31 near the end of the first half after a big run by the Rams.
Aside from a big day from both of Utah’s senior guards, another senior cemented himself in Utah history.
Stencil Luke Nevill’s name in the record book8212;again. The Utah center broke the school record in blocks at the four-minute mark in the second half. He recorded two more blocks following that, putting his record at 162 in his career at the U. He finished the game with six blocks overall, on top of 19 points and seven rebounds.
“To be in the record books at all is a privilege,” Nevill said. “To be among a great Utah tradition and a great bunch of guys, I feel privileged.”
Sophomore swingman Carlon Brown continues to fill up the stat sheet for the Utes. Brown’s versatility shone as he finished the game with 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
The Utes are playing a broken record when it comes to the stat sheet. They held the Rams to 37 percent shooting from the field and under 70 points for the game. Utah has held its opponents under 70 points in seven of eight games. In five of those games, the Utes have held their opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field.
Thien SokCenter Luke Nevill now holds the school record for blocks. Nevill had six blocks Saturday giving him 162 in his career at Utah.