ASU only shot 35 percent from the field for the game, but it was the second half when the Hornets only managed to hit seven field goals and shot 25 percent from the field as the Utes pulled away.
 
"First of all we played a really, really, really good team tonight and they took us out of everything we wanted to do," Head Coach Lewis Jackson said.  "They were long underneath with seven-footers and 6'-9" and 6'-10" guys.  They were long on the wings at 6'-6" and 6'-7" and they made it difficult for us to do what we were trying to do on offense especially in our half court sets."
 
Jamel Waters was the lone Hornet to score in double digits and he had 19 on six of 11 shooting.  Among those six field goals were four three point shots.  Bobby Brown and DeMarcus Robinson finished the game with eight points.
 
The Hornets battled the much taller Utes to a draw on the boards with both teams grabbing 36.  Maurice Strong led ASU's efforts with six and Brandon Graham came off the bench to grab five.
 
ASU (2-3) did hit seven of its 14 three point field goals for 50 percent and did much better at the free throw line tonight hitting 17 of 24 for 71 percent.
 
Utah (5-1) shot 53 percent from the field and hit 10 three point field goals on their way to scoring 93 points.  Delon Wright led the Utes with 24 points while Kenneth Ogbe added 19.
 
"We had problems scoring and when we were going through our scoring droughts our defense fell off," Jackson said.  "We allowed them to get into the lane entirely too much."
 
Utah had a 49-33 lead at halftime thanks in part to their ability to get to the free throw line.  They hit 12 of their 17 free throws, whereas the Hornets only shot seven, hitting four.  They also forced the Hornets into 11 turnovers which they converted into 21 another 21 points.
 
The much taller Utes used their height to their advantage in making the Hornets adjust many of their field goal attempts especially in the paint.  ASU did manage to shoot 46 percent from the field with Waters leading the team with 10 points.
 
Utah shot 53 percent from the field in the opening half with Wright's 14 and Ogbe's 11 leading the way.
 
"We will go back and look at some film and see some of the things we didn't do well," Jackson said.  "This can help us out a lot because when you play good teams like this you find out a lot about yourself and tonight we found out a lot of things about ourselves."
 
The Hornets will be back on their home court when they host Jacksonville State Dec. 6 at 3 p.m.