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- Utah defeated Radford 81-63, led by Hunter Erickson's 18 points.
- Erickson's performance included 4-of-6 from 3-point range and a +31 plus-minus.
- Coach Craig Smith is reevaluating rotations as Utah improves to a 7-2 record.
SALT LAKE CITY — In a game that lacked any sustained rhythm, Utah men's basketball pulled away in the second half to beat Radford 81-63 Saturday night.
Though not the most fluid of games on offense for the Runnin' Utes (7-2) this season, the home team built up a 17-point lead early in the second half on 47% shooting from the floor and maintained the lead.
Despite the occasional struggles, Utah assisted on 22 of its 28 shots on the night and managed 10 made 3-pointers on 36% shooting from deep.
"We're not always going to shoot lights out like we have in earlier games this year," Jake Wahlin said. "Tonight may have been a good example. ... No matter how the offensive side of the floor is going, we have to stay true to who we are defensively, be ready to compete. And we know that if we leave it all out there, that we'll figure things out."
The Utes were led in scoring by Hunter Erickson, who came off the bench to finish with 18 points — including 4-of-6 from 3-pointer range — in 31 minutes. Erickson added three rebounds and three assists while taking on additional playing minutes Saturday night.
Erickson got the bulk of the guard minutes after Mike Sharavjamts, who only got four total minutes and 2 points, was replaced in the lineup for the night. Utah head coach Craig Smith has worked of late to shrink his rotation, and Sharavjamts and Keanu Dawes (did not play) have been the first to see minutes drop.
"I'm gonna really go back and look at some things tomorrow," Smith said about his rotations, while adding that Sharavjamts has "got to keep getting better."
"He's a good player, he's talented," Smith added. "Obviously, he's not playing his best basketball, and so we've got to try to put him in a position to help him more. And then he's got to figure some things out, as well."
But Erickson's presence on the court made everyone better Saturday as the veteran guard finished +31 in plus-minus metrics.
"Just coming in and playing as hard as I can every time," Erickson said. "A lot of trust is being put on me defensively, as well, and I kind of take pride in that."
Gabe Madsen added 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds; and Lawson Lovering contributed an all-around strong performance of 12 points, four rebounds and three assists, while adding four blocks and three steals.
Though offense wasn't always clicking, especially in the first half, Utah's defense held serve and limited the Highlanders (9-3) for much of the night. The defense kept Radford late in the shot clock and forced several scoring droughts on a night where the Highlanders shot 41% from the fie
Jarvis Moss led Radford in scoring with 18 points, including going 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and Brandon Maclin added 15 points to round out the team's players in double figures.
Utah was the better team all around, but Radford made a push late in the first half to erase a one-time 15-point lead and got it down to 3 before the Runnin' Utes built up the lead again and never looked back.
