Field Level Media
Feb 10, 2018
David Collette scored 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting to lead Utah to a 77-43 win over California on Saturday.
Justin Bibbins chipped in 15 and Sedrick Barefield added 13 for the Utes. Utah (15-9, 7-6 Pac-12) won its fourth straight at home against Pac-12 opponents.
Darius McNeill scored 10 points to lead California. The Bears (8-18, 2-11 Pac-12) lost their sixth straight road game after going 3-0 away from home to start the season.
California charged out to an 8-4 lead behind McNeill. Then Utah clamped down on defense and gradually pulled away from the Bears. The Utes forced six turnovers through the first 8 1/2 minutes. California had 11 turnovers by halftime, which led to 17 points for Utah.
Utah went on a couple of big runs to build a double-digit lead. The Utes kept attacking the Bears on both ends of the court to make sure it stayed that way.
Bibbins evened the score on a 4-point play that also sparked a 10-0 run and gave Utah a 14-8 lead. Then Barefield and Collette combined to score baskets over three straight possessions to trigger an 11-2 run. It ended with back-to-back layups from Collette and a 30-18 advantage for the Utes.
Utah led by as many as 19 points before halftime, going up 40-21 on a layup from Collette with 59 seconds left in the half. California scored just one field goal in the final five minutes of the half. The lone basket came on a 3-pointer from Don Coleman that beat the halftime buzzer.
Utah led by as many as 34 points in the second half. The Utes took their largest lead in the final minute on back-to-back baskets from Parker Van Dyke and Jayce Johnson.
California hosts Stanford next Sunday for its next game.
Utah travels to face Washington and Washington State on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
--Field Level Media