Utah rolls past Warriors, 66-52
David Collette scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds tonight to help Utah roll past Hawai’i, 66-52, in the consolation round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
A crowd of about 4,200 at the Stan Sheriff Center and national ESPNU TV audience watched the Utes (8-3) build a 20-point lead midway through the second half, and then hold off a late mini-rally by the Warriors (4-7).
Utah advances to play Stephen F. Austin in Sunday’s fifth-place game at 7:30 a.m., while UH will face Southern Mississippi for seventh place at 9:30 a.m.
The Utes led the Warriors from wire-to-wire, including 31-18 at halftime after Hawai’i shot just 25 percent (6 of 24) from the field. Utah extended the lead to 49-29 after Collette’s layup with 9:47 remaining, but the Warriors later closed it to 54-44 after Jack Purchase’s two free throws at the 3:01 mark.
But that was as close as UH would get.
Purchase led the Warriors with 13 points, and Brock Stepteau added 11 points.
More details, including video highlights and interviews, will be posted later.
(Game photo courtesy Matt Osumi)
Friday’s Results
San Diego State 82, Tulsa 63
Stephen F. Austin 67, Southern Miss 64
San Francisco 66, Illinois State 58
Utah 66, Hawai’i 52
Sunday’s Games
7:30 a.m. — Utah vs. Stephen F. Austin for fifth place
9:30 a.m. — Hawai’i vs. Southern Miss for seventh place
1:00 p.m. — Tulsa vs. Illinois State for third place
3:00 p.m. — San Diego State vs. San Francisco for championship
Disappointing performance. We need to halves of intense BB by our team. No loss is a good loss. Focus on the mentality of winning eveytime you go on the court.