First place never felt so good.
For the first time in four years, the Runnin’ Utes own sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference, thanks in large part to senior Shaun Green, who dropped 21 points as the Utes took a one-game lead in the MWC standings Wednesday night by defeating San Diego State 67-55. The game also extended Utah’s streak to five.
“I can’t even explain it,” said Lawrence Borha, who had 11 points on the night. “It’s just good for us to be in first place, the first few years being down. Now, we are just back on top and I’m excited about it.”
Utah came out of halftime down 33-29. It carried its tough defense into the second half to spark a 9-2 run in the first six minutes. The Utes held the Aztecs to 22 points on 28 percent shooting from the field in the second half.
Senior Tyler Kepkay and junior Luka Drca both made two big shots from beyond the arc in the second half, helping the Utes maintain their lead. Kim Tillie was a difference-maker, grabbing several offensive rebounds at key moments throughout the game. He finished the game with eight rebounds8212;three of them offensive8212;and three assists.
“I told Kim after the game that I thought it was one of the best games that I’ve seen him play here,” said head coach Jim Boylen. “His energy, his toughness and that free-throw rebound at the start of the second half was huge for what we were trying to do. His energy is contagious.”
Despite again scoring in double figures, Luke Nevill was not as productive as he has been during the season. Trying to work through double teams, he was forced to shoot 3-for-7 from the field, accumulating 12 points, six of those from the free-throw line. He managed just three rebounds.
“(SDSU’s) defense was good, and Luke’s got to play better,” Boylen said.
The number of turnovers the Utes forced for San Diego State made the difference. The Aztecs are the top in the league in turnovers per game, averaging 12 on the season, but lost the handle 18 times. This led to a margin of six turnovers in the Utes’ favor, which they capitalized on for 22 points.
“We tried to guard them the best we could, we triedto be active,” Boylen said. “I don’t know if it was our defense, but we’ll take it.”
Before the game, Aztecs star Lorrenzo Wade was given two I.V.s to combat a flu that has kept him sidelined throughout the last week. The sickness didn’t interrupt him from being the second-leading scorer for the Aztecs, putting up 15 and disrupting the Utah defense all night. He did, however, struggle from the free-throw line, going just 3-of-7. The Aztecs made 13-of-20 free throws, though they usually shoot 70 percent from the line.
The Utes led the MWC in free-throw percentage at 78 percent, but struggled from the charity stripe. Boylen made a goal for them to get to the line 28 times8212;they made it 26 and hit 18.
Boylen said he was unhappy with the difference in rebounds. Utah leads the league with a rebounding margin of plus-5, but was outrebounded by the Aztecs 35-31.
Thien SokLuke Nevill provided both offensive and defensive production Wednesday night in the Utes? win over San Diego State. The Utes beat the Aztecs 67-55, taking over the top spot in the Mountain West Conference outright.