NCAA News Wire
Utah 76, Arizona State 59
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
TEMPE, Ariz. — Guard Delon Wright scored 21 points and the No. 8 Utes rolled into their Top 10 meeting with Arizona on Saturday with a 76-59 Pac-12 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday.
Forward Jordan Loveridge had 14 points and eight rebounds and guard Brandon Taylor added 13 points for the Utes (14-2, 4-0 Pac-12), who led by 28 points in the second half on the way to their seventh straight win.
Center Jakob Poeltl had six points and seven rebounds for the Utes, who shot 53.7 percent while limiting Arizona State (8-9, 0-4) to 39.3 percent.
Utah — ranked in the top 11 in Division I in field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense and scoring defense — has limited its four Pac-12 opponents to 55, 39, 49 and 59 points as it prepares to face No. 10 Arizona (15-2, 3-1), which beat Colorado 68-54 on Thursday.
Forward Savon Goodman had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Sun Devils, the only winless team in the Pac-12. They have lost four straight.
Guard Gerry Blakes scored 10 points and center Eric Jacobsen had eight points for ASU.
Utah’s Wright made all 12 of his free throw attempts and also had a game-high six assists.
Loveridge made 3 of 5 3-point attempts as Utah went 9 of 17. Loveridge made a 3-pointer on the Utes’ second possession and they never trailed.
Wright scored 12 points in the first half, 10 as the Utes pulled away in the final 11 minutes for a 40-23 lead. Loveridge had eight at halftime.
Utah led 13-12 before Loveridge’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 10:50 left in the half started an 18-3 run that resulted in a 31-15 lead. Blakes had ASU’s only points in that stretch, on a driving layup and free throw at 8:37.
NOTES: Utah has not been ranked as high in the AP poll since it closed the 1998-99 season at No. 6 after going 28-5 with G Andre Miller and coach Rick Majerus. … Utah senior G Delon Wright is one of 25 players named to the midseason Wooden Award watch. Stanford senior G Chasson Randle and Arizona freshman F Stanley Johnson are the other Pac-12 players on the list. … Former ASU C Jordan Bachynski, who set the Pac-12 career record for blocked shots last season, was in the crowd. His brother, Dallin, is a senior center at Utah. Jordan designed caps and T-shirts that featured both schools’ logos when the two met last season. … Portland F Dorrel Wright, Delon’s older brother by six years, is in his 11th NBA season. He led the league in 3-pointers made and attempted in 2010-11 after being Miami’s first-round draft choice in 2004 out of high school.
