The Utah men's basketball team responded Thursday night with a resounding victory over Oregon State, 74-47, to remain undefeated at home (10-0) this season inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Thursday's game got off to a slow start for both teams as the Runnin' Utes and Beavers went back-and-forth before Utah's defense woke up to propel its offense to the tune of an 18-3 run to go into half time on top 33-22. The Utah defense held Oregon State scoreless for 9:36 minutes before Dexter Akanno hit a 3-pointer with :02 left in the half.
Deivon Smith led the squad with 10 first-half points while Keba Keita was near a double-double in the first 20 minutes of action in his first-career start with 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Utah's (13-5, 4-3 Pac-12) offense continued to rev at full speed, constantly barraging the Beavers in every which direction between the post and perimeter. Keita and Branden Carlson both picked up double-doubles by the midway point in the second half while Smith flirted with a double-double as well and was just two assists why.
With two starters out, Utah's bench saw a lot of time on the court with each player seeing action for at least 12 minutes to help ease the payload.
Utah's defense was at its best as well, holding Oregon State (9-8, 1-5 Pac-12) to just 29.1-percent from the field – the first time an opponent has shot under 30-percent all season.
Keita finished with a game-high 18 points to go with a career-high 15 rebounds – 7 of which came on the offensive end. Carlson scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half and also pulled down 10 boards to help the Utes. Smith chipped in with 14 points and 8 assists to go with 5 rebounds in his second start as a Ute. Gabe Madsen chipped in with 9 points and 3 assists while Cole Bajema added 8 points.
BY THE NUMBERS
Keba Keita made his first-career start in the place of injured Lawson Lovering … Utah has now won four-straight against the Beavers after the Thursday night's victory … Utah dominated the paint, outscoring Oregon State 34-12 while converting 17 offensive boards into 17 points … Utah looks to sweep the Oregon schools at home for just the second time since joining the Pac-12 and third time overall in that time span. Utah swept the Beavers and Ducks at home back in 2013 and then swept them on the road in 2017.
UP NEXT
The Utes close out the weekend welcoming in the Oregon Ducks for a 1 p.m. (MT) on Sunday, Jan. 21, match-up inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center as Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli guide fans through the action on ESPN.
