Utah pulls away, hands Hawaii first loss

Branden Carlson scored 17 points and collected six rebounds to lead Utah to a 79-66 victory over Hawaii in Salt Lake City on Thursday night.

Hunter Erickson tallied a season-high 15 points off the bench for the Utes. Keba Keita added 14 points and seven rebounds. Cole Bajema chipped in 10 points. Rollie Worster collected a team-high nine rebounds.

Utah (5-2) improved to 50-11 all-time against its former WAC rivals by dominating around the basket. The Utes outscored Hawaii 44-24 in the paint. They had a 38-29 advantage in rebounds and a 16-13 edge in second-chance points.

Noel Coleman led Hawaii with 14 points. Juan Munoz added 12 points while Harry Rouhliadeff and Justin McKoy chipped in 11 apiece for the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawaii (5-1) suffered its first loss of the season after enduring multiple offensive cold spells at critical junctures. The Warriors shot just 25 percent from 3-point range in the second half.

Carlson scored four of Utah's first five baskets to help the Utes stake out an 18-6 lead. His last three baskets helped fuel a 15-3 run punctuated by back-to-back baskets from Keita.

Hawaii erased the deficit behind a 14-3 run. Rouhliadeff punctuated the run with two straight baskets, culminating in a go-ahead layup to give the Rainbow Warriors their first lead at 27-26.

Defense came to the rescue for Utah. Hawaii went ice cold, making only two baskets over the final eight minutes of the first half. It opened a door for the Utes to go back in front and grab a 39-34 halftime lead.

Carlson helped Utah get off to another quick start in the second half. He made a pair of baskets to fuel a 12-2 run that gave the Utes a double-digit lead again. Rollie Worster finished off the run with a steal and layup that put Utah up 54-39.

Hawaii cut the deficit to single digits at 68-59 on a pair of layups from McKoy.

Erickson countered with three straight baskets to stop the rally.

—Field Level Media