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SALT LAKE CITY — Rebounding continues to be a thorn in Utah men's basketball's side this season.
And none of that got any better Saturday night at home against California Baptist in Utah's first game back to the Huntsman Center in a couple week. The Lancers outrebounded the Runnin' Utes 47-30, had 31 second-chance points, and outscored Utah 48-28 in the post.
Even then, Utah maintained a lead throughout the duration of the game and pulled away to claim a 91-85 win on their home court.
"They had 17 more shots than us, which makes it hard to win a game, but we did a good job," Utah head coach Alex Jensen said. "I think our guards did a really good job of ending up with only nine turnovers and did a good job with the pace and not trying to force it, and playing with the pass.
"I'm happy for our guys. No win's easy, and a lot of credit to Cal Baptist."
Terrence Brown remained an aggressive asset for Utah with active hands and transition points to lead the Utes with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Don McHenry added 21 points and two rebound for the Utes, who shot 49% from the field Saturday night.
Jacob Patrick, who got the start Saturday, went 3-of-3 from 3-point range to finish with 11 points, and Keanu Dawes added 10 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the win.
Although Utah maintained a lead for all but 24 seconds of the game, the Utes allowed Cal Baptist guard Dominique Daniels Jr. to gash the team for 20 first-half points en route to a 31-point performance before fouling out. He finished with a double-double with 11 rebounds and two assists.
The Lancers had two other players finish in double figures, with both Martel Williams and Thomas Ndong each supplying 14 points apiece.
Utah slowly built up a lead as the game developed, controlling a 10-point lead with just under 15 minutes left to play. But the home team could never really pull away as Cal Baptist continued to go on little runs, largely because of offensive rebounds to get second-chance points.
Jensen said rebounding is more of a "mindset" his team needs to do better at to stay in games, especially as tougher opponents will soon come into the picture as Big 12 play nears.
"I give credit to Cal Baptist, but that's only going to get harder on the offensive board, so it takes five guys," Jensen said. "It's just something we will keep pounding, and just kind of a mindset, because then I tell them, if we get the rebound, then we can play offense, which is what everybody wants to do."
