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The Runnin' Utes (5-1) remain undefeated at home with their 93-62 win over Alabama State. They also finished undefeated in their holiday round robin tournament. Utah guard Delon Wright led all scorers with 24 points, on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Wright was one of five Utah players to score in double figures.
Utah pulled out to an early lead before Alabama State cut the Utah lead to only three points midway through the first half. Wright and Kenneth Ogbe, who had a career high 19 points, led a 17-4 Utah run to give Utah a 16 point lead at halftime, 49-33. Ogbe was strong from long range making 3 of 6 shots from deep. Forward Jakob Poeltl got into early foul trouble, but he finished the game strong, scoring 11 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and blocking one shot in 17 minutes. Guard Dakarai Tucker (12) and forward Dallin Bachynski (10) were the other two players to score in double figures for the Runnin' Utes.
Utah continued to pull away in the second half. They held Alabama State to 25% (7 of 28) shooting. Having Poeltl back in the second half caused problems for the Alabama State offense and contributed to the poor shooting. Alabama State was led by 19 points from Jamel Waters. He was the only Hornet to score in double figures.
Utah shot 53.3% (32 of 60) for the game, 43.5% (10 of 23) from beyond the arc, and only 59.4% (19 of 32) from the line. Alabama State was held to only 35.2% (19 of 53) shooting from the field.
The Runnin' Utes next host the 4-0 Wichita State Shockers on Wed. Dec. 4th at 9 PM MT in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Wichita State defeated Tulsa (3-3) at home 75-55.