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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
BAYAMON, Puerto Rico (AP) -- With coach Rick Majerus at home,
recovering from knee surgery, Utah (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 13 AP) pounded American Puerto
Rico 94-37 Thursday at the Puerto Rico Shootout.
Trace Caton scored 19 points and the Utes closed the first half
with a 39-6 run to take command against an overmatched opponent.
"This was a game we really needed," said Utah assistant coach
Dick Hunsaker, who filled in for Majerus.
"We got a lot in. We recognize that they weren't at our level
and we wanted to keep the score down, but we also had to look out
for ourselves. We have not been playing well. We're looking for our
identity as a team because we have so many new guys and we don't
really have a team leader yet."
Utah outrebounded its Division II opponent 45-15 and will play
Georgia on Friday in the holiday tournament.
Chris Burgess added 11 points for Utah (2-0), which used 13
players, each playing at least 11 minutes. Kevin Bradley had 10
points and six assists. American (0-1) did not have a player in
double figures.
American, severely outsized, stayed in the game the first 10
minutes. Utah opened a 10-point lead with 11:44 left in the half on
a 3-point shot by Kevin Bradly. From there, the Utes took charge
and ended the half with a 59-16 lead.
Flor Melendez, former coach of the Puerto Rico and Argentine
national teams who was recently hired by American, knew that his
team was not in the same class as Utah.
"We played with them for the first 10 minutes and then again
for eight minutes in the second half," Melendez said. "But I
think that universities like this are much more prepared than we
are."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Utah Clubhouse
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