The High Point University men's basketball team suffered a disappointing 80-44 loss at the University of Utah on Wednesday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

 

The Panthers, playing in their first game since a win over Longwood on Dec. 17, struggled from the floor for much of the game and weren't able to fend off a hot-shooting Ute squad. The loss snapped a three-game win streak for HPU dropping them to 6-3 on the year while Utah improved to 7-4 overall.

 

The two squads played things close over the opening few minutes before Utah used a 10-0 run midway through the frame to grab the momentum. High Point closed the period with a 9-3 spurt to cut the margin from 18 points to 12 at halftime (39-27).

 

HPU scored the first two buckets out of the break to trim the deficit to eight at 31-39 but would get no closer as the Utes drained shots from all over the floor en route to earning the final margin. Utah shot 50 percent from the floor for the game and were the beneficiaries of a 21-3 edge in free throw attempts.

 

"I was disappointed in our effort tonight," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "We struggled with several phases of the game tonight and it is partly because of the length of break that we took. I want to give Utah credit though because they played with tremendous effort and really played much harder than we did and made all the hustle plays."

 

Senior Akeem Scott scored a team high 11 rebounds and missed a double-double by a single board after pulling down a team leading nine rebounds. Arizona Reid scored just eight points marking the first game this season that the sophomore failed to reach double figures.

 

Utah's Chris Jackson, a 6'11 center, finished with a 14 point, 10 rebound double-double to pace the Utes. Ricky Johns added a career high 16 points to lead all scorers.

 

High Point will make a quick return to the hardwood as the Panthers travel south to Orem, Utah, to face Utah Valley State on Friday at 7:05 p.m. (MT).