David Jenkins Jr. scored 25 points, hitting six 3-pointers, while leading Utah to an 86-55 victory over Bethune-Cookman in Salt Lake City on Monday night.
Jenkins also dished out five assists, and Branden Carlson added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Utes. Both Gach chipped in 11 points.
Utah (3-0) won the first-ever meeting between the programs by racking up 19 assists on 27 baskets and shooting 48.2 percent from the field.
Damani McEntire scored 20 points to lead the Wildcats (0-3). Bethune-Cookman scored 17 points off 13 Utah turnovers but shot just 32.3 percent from the field overall, including 5 of 19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range.
Utah won the rebounding battle for a third consecutive game, finishing with a 46-30 advantage on the glass. The Utes also blocked seven shots, including two apiece for Carlson and Marco Anthony.
This was a regional campus game kicking off the Sunshine Slam. Utah will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla., to face Boston College in the semifinal round on Saturday and then face either Rhode Island or Tulsa on the final day on Sunday.
Ice-cold shooting doomed Bethune-Cookman early in the first half. The Wildcats missed 13 of their first 15 shots and opened the door for Utah to build a quick double-digit lead.
After Marcus Garrett made a layup to put Bethune-Cookman up 4-3, the Utes ripped off 12 unanswered points. Dusan Mahorcic fueled the run with a pair of layups, with the second one giving Utah a 15-4 lead.
Jenkins scored 20 points before halftime to provide the Utes a valuable spark on offense. He made 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions to put the game out of reach. His fourth outside basket in that sequence gave Utah a 41-18 lead, and the Utes were on top 45-23 at halftime.
–Field Level Media
