Salt Lake City, Utah: Utes Use 20-0 Run to Beat Weber State 85-64, Anigbata Scores 21

Utah used a 20-0 run in the second half to beat Weber State 85-64 on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City, staying unbeaten at 3-0 after trailing at halftime at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Freshman forward Alec Anigbata scored a career high 21 points, including five during the decisive run. Trey Campbell scored 13 points and handed out 10 assists for the Utes. Jackson Holcombe scored 18 points, 15 of them in the first half, Jaxon Johnson pulled down a game high eight rebounds and Taison Chatman added 10 points.

Utah shot 71.4 percent from the floor in the second half, making 20 of 28 shots, and outscored the Wildcats 55-27 after the break. The Utes also controlled the boards and turned a game that Weber State led for long stretches into a 21 point win.

Weber State leads at halftime

Weber State fell to 0-3 despite a game high 22 points from Dylan Warlick, a junior transfer from Saint Louis University. Augustine Ekwe added 16 points and seven rebounds, and freshman Gavin Lowe, a two time Utah state prep player of the year, finished with seven points and a team high eight assists.

Utah opened with a 17-10 lead at the 13:36 mark behind seven early points from Holcombe. The Utes then went scoreless for more than five minutes, and the Wildcats rallied to take a 22-19 lead on a 3 pointer by Ardarius Grayson. Weber State led 37-30 at halftime, with Warlick scoring 14 points on drives to the basket and the Wildcats holding a 28-16 edge in points in the paint.

The 20-0 run decides it

Utah regained the lead with a 12-4 spurt, going ahead 42-41 on a fastbreak layup by TJ Burch with 15:58 left. Weber State took its last lead, 50-48, with 12:16 left on a turnaround jumper by Ekwe. Utah then scored 20 straight points over the next five minutes, a run highlighted by back to back dunks from Babacar Faye. The Wildcats trailed by 18 after the run and never got closer than 11 points, at 70-59, the rest of the way.

The comeback pattern is familiar for this Utah team. In its season opener on Nov. 2, Utah rallied from a 17 point first half deficit to beat Long Beach State 66-63. On Tuesday the deficit was smaller, seven points at halftime, but the second half response was stronger, and the Utes closed out a fellow Utah program by a wide margin.

What is next

Weber State returns home to host Lincoln on Saturday at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, still looking for its first win of the season. Utah is 3-0 and stays unbeaten at home after wins over Long Beach State, Towson and Weber State to open the season.