Brekkott Chapman (Photo Rob Gray)
The Utes defeat the Jackrabbits of SDSU 80-66 at the Huntsman center on Tuesday night in front of over 10,000 Utah fans. The stars of the game for Utah were freshman Brekkott Champman and Senior guard Delon Wright. Chapman scored a career-best 22 points to help No. 14 Utah cruise past South Dakota State by 14 points. Wright added 17 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Utes, who used a four-minute first-half run to take command and never looked back.
Dallin Bachynski (Photo Rob Gray)
The Utes started Reyes, Poeltl, Taylor, Tucker and Wright for the second game in a row. The Utes shot much better from the field this week shooting 52% from the field but only shot 63% from the foul line which has been a struggle for the Utes this year. The Utes shot 35% from behind the arc with Dakarai Tucker making 2 of 4 and Kenneth Ogbe making 2 of his 7 attempts.
The Jackrabbits of South Dakota State were led by Cody Larson who scored 13 points, Reed Tellinghuisen added 12 points and Zach Horstman had 10 as SDSU’s record feel to 9-4 on the season. SDSU shot 39 percent and saw their seven-game winning streak snapped by the loss to the Utes.
Delon Wright drives against SDSU defenders
Jordan Loveridge missed his seventh game after knee surgery but is nearing a return and starting forward Chris Reyes played just three minutes because of an undisclosed injury. Although Ute coach Larry Krystkowiak indicated in post game interviews that he wasn’t thrilled with the play of Reyes that he came in not focused and had similar thoughts on the play of Brandon Taylor. The Utes have won 26 straight against unranked opponents at home by an average of 24 points. Utah is fifth in the nation at defending 2-point shots (37%).
UP NEXT: The Utes are taking some time off for the Holiday and return on the weekend to practice and prepare as they host Carroll College on Tuesday December 30th, 2014. Photos courtesy of Rob Gray for Utah Sporting News and ESPN 700.