Join us » ets said they would issue ano

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah has three players that hail from the state of Michigan and the trio made all the difference against UC Riverside.We just have a little grit to ourselves and we always try and play hard. We get after it, Kyle Kuzma (Flint, Michigan) said.Lorenzo Bonam (Inkster, Michigan) scored a career-high 21 points and Kuzma added 18 to help Utah run past the Highlanders 85-67 on Friday night.Even freshman wing Devon Daniels (Battle Creek, Michigan) got into the act with 14 points and 11 rebounds and sneaked a dig on Kuzma during the post-game press conference.Yep, me and `Zo are pretty tough but I dont know about Koozy, Daniels said with a laugh.Freshman center Jayce Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Utes, who had a 32-point advantage in points scored in the paint.Chance Murray had 17 points and backcourt mate Dikymbe Martin added 15 for the Highlanders (1-3), who were tied with the Utes at 21 midway through the first half. The Highlanders converted 10 of their 21 3-point attempts.Our guards played incredible but Utahs length just really bothered us at the rim, UCR coach Dennis Cutts said.JoJo Zamora hit a 3-pointer to start an 11-0 run that ended shortly before halftime -- the Highlanders struggled to find the lanes that had been available earlier in the game while the Utes started following any misses with putbacks.We just got stops, that was the biggest thing, Kuzma said. Because then we can run and score in transition. That was our mindset for the rest of the game.Utah (4-0) used a 10-0 run that bridged the halves to extend its advantage to 54-34 and coasted from there. To cap the surge, Daniels took a pass from Parker Van Dyke and made a layup with 17:08 to play.Thats how I play. I just attack my opponent . I go hard to the rim, Daniels said.Though the Highlanders couldnt get closer than 15 points down the stretch, they kept Utahs starters in the game until the final minutes, much longer than they played previously this season.BIG PICTUREUC Riverside: Before the game, Cutts said he hopes these tough early games pay dividends in Big West Conference play, where the Highlanders are picked to finish seventh. Despite the lopsided results, he said his players are a confident bunch and are learning game by game.Utah: After the Utes won their first three games by an average of 43 points, the Highlanders provided more resistance and presented a bit more size. With just two returners with significant experience -- Kuzma and Bonam -- the Utes scheduled to avoid any heavyweights before facing Butler next Monday. Thats when Utah will test just how well its young team has gelled.STAT OF THE NIGHTThe Utes dominated the rebounding tally 49-32, including 17 offensive boards. Bonam had a career-best 10 rebounds.REFERENCE POINTTwo years ago, the Highlanders lost to Utah 88-42. We use this game as a reference point of how hard to play and how to play the right way. Well refer to this all year long, Cutts said.Murray added, We came with the right mindset and we played hard. Wed like to have played a bit better but I like the direction were headed.UP NEXTUC Riverside continues its road-heavy start to the season with a trip to UCLA on Wednesday.Utah will host Butler on Monday, essentially the Utes first formidable opponent of the season. The Bulldogs have won their first six games, including a 69-65 win over No. 8 Arizona on a neutral court Friday night. Leonardo Bonucci Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Rodrigo Bentancur Juventus Jersey . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Leonardo-Spinazzola-Jersey/ .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Douglas Costa Jersey . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Daniele Rugani Juventus Jersey . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Free-agent forward Terrence Jones has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, according to league sources.The Pelicans, as it stands, can only offer a one-year minimum contract, but sources say New Orleans is working to create sufficient financial wiggle room to get Jones 2016-17 into the $1.5 million range.Sources said that Jones received at least one other offer Thursday, reportedly paying him more money, but the chance to reunite with former Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis ultimately swayed the former Houston Rockets player to the Pelicans.Last season, the Rockets wanted to give Jones, a 2012 first-round pick, an opportunity to compete for the startingg job at power forward with Donatas Motiejunas.dddddddddddd A back issue delayed Motiejunas chance of winning the job, so by default it went to Jones. He just couldnt get going, missing five games with a right eye laceration in November and five more in February with a concussion suffered in a car accident on the way to the airport for a road trip.Jones had 15 DNP-CDs and was inactive twice during the regular season.In just 11 starts, he averaged 11.5 points and 5.6 rebounds last season.Information from ESPN.coms Calvin Watkins was used in this report. ' ' '