SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Taking care of the ball has been a weakness for Utah all season. When the Utes opened the game with three quick turnovers, it felt like the same chapter unfolding in a familiar story once again.
Utah changed the script by beating Colorado at its own game. The Utes held the Buffaloes in check with stifling defense in a 76-60 victory to open Pac-12 play on Sunday.
Colorado withered under the pressure Utah applied on the defensive end. The Utes scored 20 points off of 15 Buffaloes turnovers to break open a close game after halftime. Utah, on the other hand, committed just 10 turnovers - only three after halftime.
“Everybody has their share in not turning the ball over and trying to be solid (on offense),” Utah forward Kyle Kuzma said. “Everybody just has to be solid. We did a great job today. We just need to build on this effort.”
Lorenzo Bonam scored 15 points while David Collette and Kuzma added 14 points apiece to help the Utes beat their league rival for the sixth straight time.
Utah (10-3) proved equally tough for Colorado to deal with on the offensive end. The Utes shot 18 of 31 (58.1 percent) from the field after halftime to pull away.
Derrick White scored 15 points and George King added 11 to lead Colorado, which could not overcome the combination of turnovers or poor defense. It sent the Buffaloes to their second loss in the state of Utah this season.
Colorado (10-4) also lost to BYU 79-71 in December.
Utah committed three turnovers in the first 2 ½ minutes and the Buffaloes sprinted out to a 10-2 lead when Derrick White turned one Utah turnover into a layup and Xavier Johnson turned another into a dunk on back-to-back possessions.
Colorado went cold on offense midway through the first half, missing 8 of 10 shots over a seven-minute stretch. Utah cashed in with a 13-2 run and took a 27-22 lead on back-to-back layups from Sedrick Barefield and Collette.
“I was disappointed with how we came out of the locker room,” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “We had a couple of lazy turnovers. They had four offensive rebounds in their first (few) possessions. Then we kind of woke up and, after that point, we did a decent job on the glass.”
The Buffaloes committed four turnovers over the final 4:17 before halftime and then missed 7-of-9 shots to open the second half.
The Utes scored baskets on their first three possessions of the half, including a 3 and a layup by Bonam, to extend their lead to 43-29.
“We didn’t guard,” White said. “We didn’t follow the game plan. We knew the sets that they were going to run and they just carved us up. That was the big thing. We didn’t guard nobody.”
Utah made six straight shots, culminating in back-to-back baskets from JoJo Zamora, to take a 62-39 lead with 10:56 remaining.
BIG PICTURE
Colorado: The Buffaloes lost their sixth consecutive game to Utah dating to the 2013-14 season. Four of those losses have been by double digit margins.
Utah: The Utes won their Pac-12 opener for just the second time in six seasons. Beating Colorado also gave Utah its first victory of the season against an RPI Top-100 opponent, something the Utes will need plenty more of to offset a weak non-conference strength of schedule.
KUZMA RETURNS
Kyle Kuzma ended up being sidelined for the duration of the Diamond Head Classic after injuring his ankle in the opening minute of Utah’s 89-86 loss to San Francisco on Dec. 22. Kuzma, who missed wins over Hawaii and Stephen F. Austin last week, returned to the court for the first time since the injury against Colorado.
The junior forward averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds in 10 games before the injury. He felt angry at being sidelined in Hawaii and relished being back in action - even though his ankle is not quite back at full strength.
“It was good to come back,” Kuzma said. “I’m not really 100 percent right now, but it’s a start.
UP NEXT
Colorado is at Arizona State on Thursday night.
Utah is at Arizona on Thursday night.
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