SALT LAKE CITY -- Kyle Kuzma posted career highs with 23 points and 19 rebounds as Utah defeated Northwest Nazarene 81-37 in its season opener Saturday evening.Utah fans got their first full glimpse of the new-look Utes and their roster consisting of just two legitimate contributors from last season.This morning, I was just extra turned up, Kuzma said. I dont for whatever reason. Its game day.I tried to bring energy. I think that was the biggest thing. When we have energy-givers, then everybody feeds off of that.The Utes struggled mightily for the first 16 minutes of the first half until a 17-3 run basically put the game away after they led 36-20 at halftime. Utah shot under 40 percent most of the first half as the offense seemed to have no real direction.Kuzma started passively, like the rest of the team, but picked up the aggression and finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the first half alone. He highlighted the 17-3 stretch with a spinning floater while being fouled. Teammate Tyler Rawson added 13 points.Its a starting point for us, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. We had guys that tried to push the issue a little bit too much. Didnt trust the offense. We cleaned it up a little bit and got some composure in the second half.Some of its jitters. Got to find some consistency and some roles.Northwest Nazarene, which was playing a back-to-back after defeating Simpson University 92-67 on Friday, shot just 16.4 percent from the field and 1 for 25 from behind the arc. Maurice Jones scored 11 points. The 37 points are the fourth fewest Utah has allowed since 1982.Obviously, we played a team that was much bigger and more talented to their level, Northwest Nazarene coach Scott Flemming said. I never would have thought we would shoot the ball so poorly tonight. We have a really good shooting team. We hit eleven 3s last night against different competition.Even the open looks we got, I think that was the biggest problem. Now when youre not making shots, all of the other things kind of are obvious, too -- their rebounding, their size, all those kind of things. It hurts in transition. It still is a good game for us to have.BIG PICTURENorthwest Nazarene: No harm, no foul for the Crusaders. As a Division 2 member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the loss doesnt count toward their regular-season record. Plus, they have to feel pretty good about the early parts of the first half against a Pac-12 program that has reached the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons.Utah: Theres lots of work to do for a Utah team with just two returners having played significant minutes. The offense had no flow for much of the game outside of the spurts when Kuzma took over. The defensive intensity came and went. The Utes must improve before Pac-12 play or they will live up (or down) to their preseason pick of finishing No. 8 in the league.SHORT STAFFEDUtah will be without newcomers David Collette and Sedrick Barefield until the Utes play face Prairie View A&M on Dec. 17. The two will miss the first eight games due to transfer rules, but are expected to be starters once they return. Sophomore Parker Van Dyke, freshman Devon Daniels and redshirt freshman Jayce Johnson started alongside returning starters Kuzma and Lorenzo Bonam.BALL CONTROLThe Utes had 19 turnovers, including seven from Bonam, who had six at halftime. Krystkowiak said the goal was 12. Bonam struggled all around with just five points and going 0 for 4 after making his first basket.UP NEXTNorthwest Nazarene: The Crusaders face Portland Bible in Caldwell, Idaho, in the Taco Bell Shootout.Utah: The Utes host Concordia on Tuesday and Coppin State on Friday as they open the season with three games in six days. . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders are hoping to have cornerback Sean Smith back in the lineup for Mondays game in Mexico City against the Houston Texans.Smith made it through a third consecutive day of practice Saturday and continues to wear a protective sling on his left shoulder while being listed as questionable on the teams medical report.Coach Jack Del Rio, who rarely discusses injuries in detail, declined to say whether Smith would play but sounded optimistic.Our guys that are questionable, we had about six of them, Im hoping they can all play, Del Rio said. Well just see how it goes.That list includes wide receiver Amari Cooper and running back Latavius Murray, along with offensive linemen Rodney Hudson and Kelechi Osemele. All four have been limited in practice this week.Defensive tackle Stacy McGee, who is nursing an ankle injury, joins Smith as the only defensive players on the injury list.Smith has not played since suffering a shoulder injury on the second play of the game against Tampa Bay on Oct. 30. Although the injury wasnt serious, Smith -- one of the Raiders top free-agent acquisitions after signing a $38 million, four-year deal -- was held out of Oaklands Week 9 win over Denver.With the Raiders on a bye last week, Smith will have had three weeks of rest by the time of Monday nights kickoff.When you talk about bye week, midseason is always ideal for any football team, Smith said.ddddddddddddHalfway to take a break and now we can knock out the other half.Smith rejoins a secondary that struggled early in the season but has played better in recent weeks.After giving up an average of 338 passing yards through the first five weeks, the Raiders have allowed only one quarterback -- Denvers Trevor Siemian -- to throw for more than 240 yards in the past four games.Texans QB Brock Osweiler passed for just 255 yards total in the last two games combined and has been held under 200 yards five times.Smith said he is focusing more on Houston offensive coordinator George Godseys play-calling than he is on Osweilers low numbers.I personally dont like to let the quarterback dictate how Im going to attack the game, Smith said. For me, its playing against the offensive coordinator. The only thing I can get from a quarterback is if he likes to stare down his targets, does he have a quick release or slow release? Other than that youre kind of playing against the coordinator.Regardless of who the receiver or quarterback is, somebody else is controlling them. If I can understand how that guy likes to think, his favorite concepts, thats the key.---AP NFL website:
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