Utah has best shooting game of season, routs Eastern Washington

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah had its best shooting night of the season, and that spelled doom for the visiting Eastern Washington Eagles.

The Utes rode a lights-out offensive performance to a 101-77 win over EWU on Saturday at the Huntsman Center.

Utah (8-4) posted a season-high in field-goal percentage – 39 of 57 (68.4%) – and hit a season-best 11 of 21 (52.4%) from 3-point range. EWU (2-10) kept pace with the Utes for about the first 13 minutes, then Utah took control with a 14-2 run over three minutes to open up a 50-34 lead at the half. The Eagles never got closer than 12 points away during the second half.

Junior forward Alton Hamilton IV had a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds for EWU and senior forward Kiree Huie added 17 points and nine boards. The Eagles shot 28 of 70 (40%) from the field and 8 of 26 (30.8%) on 3s.

Three Utah players had 20-plus points, led by guard Don McHenry’s 27 on 10 of 13 shooting. Forward Keanu Dawes tallied 21 points on 9 of 9 shooting and guard Terrence Brown had 20 points and 11 assists.

The Eagles have toiled through a tough nonconference schedule that included power-conference opponents UCLA, Colorado and Utah. They’ll have another high-major test in their nonconference finale when they visit 10th-ranked BYU on Monday.Women

• CSU Bakersfield 85, EWU 72: Sophomore forward Kourtney Grossman impressed but her Eastern Washington team couldn’t keep up with the Roadrunners at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield.

Grossman tallied a career-high 21 points and hauled in 17 rebounds, boosting her rebounding average on the year to 12.3 per game – tied for third in the nation. She shot 7 of 13 overall and 3 of 7 on 3s, but the Eagles struggled as a team offensively, shooting 36% from the field and 7 of 25 (28%) on 3s.

Guard Ella Gallatin contributed 18 points for EWU (6-6). The Roadrunners (5-7), who pulled away in the third quarter, shot 45% from the floor, 9 of 15 (60%) from deep and 22 of 30 from the foul line.