Field Level Media
Dec 11, 2021
Lahat Thioune scored a career-high 16 points off the bench and Riley Battin had a season-high 14 points to help lead Utah (7-3) to a 96-62 rout of Manhattan (6-3) Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City.
Branden Carlson (13 points) and Both Gach (12 points) scored the bulk of their points before halftime when the Utes established a double-digit lead for good midway through the first half. Carlson had 11 first-half points in 14 minutes of action, while Gach scored 10.
Romar Reid led the Jaspers with 15 points in a reserve role, with starters Josh Roberts and Warren Williams each chipping in 11 points.
Nine Utes scored five or more points as the team had its biggest offensive output of the season. Utah's previous high came in an 89-56 win over Sacramento State.
Utah shot 57.6% from the field and 55.6% from 3-point range (10-for-18).
It was a rough shooting contest for Manhattan, which hit just 32.8 percent overall and 25 percent from 3-point range (5-for-20). Jose Perez, the Jaspers' leading scorer, was limited to six points on 1-for-7 shooting.
Manhattan scored the game's first basket, but once the teams were tied 6-6, it was all Utah.
Gach made back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 12-2 run, which gave Utah an 18-8 advantage. Battin helped Utah finish the half strong, hitting four free throws and a triple to outscore Manhattan 7-2 in the final 2:20 of the half.
The Utes took a 47-30 lead into the locker room.
The Utes expanded that lead for much of the second half. The lead first became 30 points at 77-47, with seven minutes remaining after Thioune capped a 22-8 run with a press-breaking layup. Eli Ballstaedt later gave the Utes their biggest lead at 34 with a 3-pointer in the final minute.
--Field Level Media