Savannah State Tigers at Utah Utes

Utah beats Savannah State 71-57, improves to 5-0

Princeton Onwas added 14 points off the bench and Delon Wright chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and four steals to lead the Utes (5-0) to their third victory in three days.

Deven Williams scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Tigers, but it was not enough to prevent Savannah State (2-6) from losing three straight games in the three-day round robin tournament.

Utah did not play with the offensive energy and fire it showed on Thursday and Friday. The Utes needed a big performance from Loveridge and strong defense to keep the Tigers at arm's length.

Utah held a 10 point lead at halftime, but the Utes could not quite shake Savannah State during much of the second half. Every time Utah scored a basket that threatened to swing momentum in its direction, the Tigers quickly answered on the other end.

Onwas made a jumper and a pair of free throws to spark a 9-3 run. Loveridge capped off the run with his own jumper to give Utah a 66-53 lead with 3:10 left.

The Tigers cut the deficit to single digits once more, making it 66-57 on a jumper from Williams with 1:56 left. But Utah hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final two minutes to secure the win.

The Utes took full advantage of the drought. Utah ripped off a 10-0 run to take the lead for the first time. Loveridge punctuated the spurt with a layup to give the Utes an 18-10 lead with 12:35 left before halftime.

It opened the door for Utah to break the game open. Savannah State kept things from playing out that way. The Tigers chipped away at the lead over the next few minutes and pulled within three at 26-23 when Hikeem Champaigne hit a jumper with 5:00 remaining in the half.

Utah did not let Savannah State finish off the rally. Loveridge converted a 3-point play to extend the lead again and then beat the buzzer with a coast-to-coast layup, putting Utah ahead 38-28 going into the locker room. His final basket before halftime gave Utah its first double-digit lead of the game.

Savannah State faced an uphill battle trying to regain the lead before halftime. The Tigers shot just 35 percent from the field over the final 15 minutes of the first half. Utah imposed its will in the paint. The Utes had a 22-10 advantage in points in the paint and an 11-4 edge in second-chance points by halftime.

How can I watch Savannah State vs. Utah?

• TV Channel: Savannah State at Utah 2021 College Basketball, week 3, is broadcasted on PACN.
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