Relying on height and paint-thinning might, Utah rolled to Thursday’s 79-66 basketball victory over Hawaii at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Branden Carlson scored 17 points and reserve point guard Hunter Erickson added 15 points and two dazzling assists to Keba Keita as the Utes improved to 5-2. It was the first loss for the Rainbow Warriors, who won their first five games.
Carlson was one of two 7-foot starters for the Utes, who are the NCAA’s tallest team with an average height of 6-7 1/2. Carlson found points on drives, hooks and a 3-point shot. But the Utes set the tone in the paint, where they amassed 44 points.
“They had size everywhere,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “When you have a 7-foot four man (Carlson) and a 7-1 center (Lawson Lovering), that can be imposing. But that’s something we need to go against.
When you start 6-4, 6-6, 6-7, there are other ways they can get you, like paint touches from their posts or their guards getting into the paint and shooting over the top. That’s where they’re tough. They really hurt us in the paint.”
Erickson, a senior who began his career at BYU, scored 12 of his points after the intermission. He also fed a trailing Keita on an over-the-shoulder pass and, later, on a drive-and-dish move. Keita hit all six of his shots.
“He had his best game,” Ganot said of 6-3 Erickson, who also buried two 3s.
Erickson, who did not attempt a free throw in Utah’s first six games, was 1-for-3 from the line on Thursday. But his deep drives forced the ’Bows to collapse their man-to-man defense, opening the way for outside shooters.
The Utes scored 18 of the game’s first 24 points. But the ’Bows went on a 21-8 run to take a 27-26 lead on Juan Munoz’s slip pass to Harry Rouhliadeff with 8:16 left in the first half. The Utes regained control with an inside-outside attack to lead 39-34 at the break.
“We came back,” Ganot said. “I don’t think we should ever fold. You could see the stretches where we can see flashes of how good we can be if we put it all together. I’m looking forward to seeing this team grow and come together. Credit Utah. They’re a good team. They have all the dimensions and ingredients of a really good NCAA team. They’re big, the biggest team in the country. They have shooting around their size. They have good guard play at the point. And they’re experienced. I’m disappointed on how we came out of the gate. But I’m proud of our guys on how they fought to end the half.”
But in the second half, the Bows hit only four of 16 shots from behind the arc and were 2-for-5 on free throws. The Bows also had difficulty defending the post, even when they doubled up.
“We tried to bring some support, but they could play over the top of our support,” Ganot said. “They could impact you on the glass. Their bench gave them a lift.”
UH guard Noel Coleman scored all but one of his team-high 14 points in the first half. Munoz contributed 12 points.
“I thought we got some good looks early, we just didn’t make them,” Ganot said. “But give them credit. They came at us. You can’t give a team like that extra cracks. We made them shoot tough ones, and they hurt us on the offensive boards.”
The ’Bows completed the 11-day road trip at 2-1. They play host to Central Arkansas on Sunday.
