Gabe Madsen led a balanced scoring effort with 20 points in Utah’s 101-66 victory Monday over Eastern Washington at Salt Lake City in the season-opening game for both teams.
Cole Bajema, a transfer from Washington, finished with 17 points for the Utes.
Rollie Worster tallied 15 points and eight assists for Utah, while Ben Carlson, Brandon Carlson and Keba Keita each had 11 points.
Madsen made 8 of 11 shots from the field and was one of four Utes with five rebounds.
Both Carlsons and Worster also finished with five rebounds apiece.
Keita led Utah with 11 rebounds.
The Utes, which shot 55.2 percent from the field, outrebounded Eastern Washington 48-28.
Utah outscored the Eagles 42-28 in the paint.
LeJuan Watts led Eastern Washington with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Dane Erikstrup had 13 points.
The Eagles shot 37.9 percent from the field, including 30 percent (9 of 30) from 3-point range.
Utah, which never trailed in the game, took control when it outscored the Eagles 14-2 to end the first half.
The Utes led 44-20 at halftime.
Eastern Washington did not get closer than 20 points in the second half.
Utah was 26 of 38 from the free-throw line.
Branden Carlson was 7 of 8 from the line and Keita and Worster were each 5 of 6.
Bajema made all four of his free-throw attempts.
The Utes finished with 18 assists and tallied 10 steals.
Former Mississippi State and Georgia Tech guard Deivon Smith did not play for Utah.
He is seeking a waiver from the NCAA as a two-time transfer to play this season with the Utes.
Eastern Washington, the regular-season Big Sky champions last year, is embarking on an arduous nonconference slate.
It will play at Mississippi and Cincinnati this week. Next week, the Eagles will play at Stanford. They travel to Washington State and USC later this month. They are scheduled to play at Washington on Dec. 21.
–Field Level Media
