"I am pretty embarrassed by the way we played," said Cougar head coach Bill Odell. "They were a better team, and we didn't pull together, and that got us into a deep hole. All the things we have not been doing well are magnified in a game like this. But we picked it up in the second half and did some nice things."

Utes center Hanno Mottola and forward Alex Jensen took advantage of an undersized Cougar frontcourt, finishing with 16 points and 14 points respectively. Jensen also had a game high 9 rebounds and a team-high 7 assists.

"You got to take who you can get coming in the door," said Utah head coach Rick Majerus. "I always book this as a win, but I treat this game just like I do Kentucky."

The Cougars found themselves in a 14-0 hole early, getting their first points on the board when UCLA transfer Kevin Daley slammed home a lob pass from senior All-American T.J. Walker over 3 minutes into the game. In fact, the first half was a nightmare for the Cougars, as the Utes led 51-18 at the intermission, thanks to a 23-for-34 clip from the field (67%). On the other hand, the Cougars shot a miserable 8-for-24 (33%) and were out-rebounded 21-7.

The second half began much the same, with the Utes increasing their lead to 37 points (58-21, the biggest lead of the night). But the Cougars showed some heart, using a 14-2 run to cut the lead to 60-35. Junior guard Jerome Joseph keyed the Cougar run with 7 points.

Utah extended its lead to 76-42, before a Walker layup and Joseph conventional 3-point play made the score 76-47. Joseph led the Cougars with 12 points and 7 rebounds, while Daley added 10 points and Matt Reed pulled down 5 rebounds.

"I don't know if we were ready to play from the tip-off, but if we would have been ready, it wouldn't have been as bad," said Joseph. "I just wanted to come out and play hard, regardless of the situation."

The Cougars finished the game shooting 18-for-53 (34%) while the Utes, who cooled down a bit in the second half, finished 35-for-67 (52%). Utah also out-rebounded the Cougars 43-26. Utes' senior all-American guard and Wooden Award Candidate Andre Miller added 10 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, with Phil Cullen, Jeremy Killion and Nate Althoff each tossing in 10 points.

"They came out tough, and we did not respond well," said Daley. "We need to come out hard no matter who we play. This is a good experience for us and having this will help us out as the season progresses."

The 47 points were the least the Cougars have scored in Odell's 8 seasons. The Cougars return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 17 when Hope International (formerly Pacific Christian) visits the Cougardome for Azusa Pacific's home opener at 7:30 p.m.