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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Noah Hartsock scored 19 points and collected seven rebounds and Charles Abouo added 11 points and six rebounds to lead BYU to a 61-42 victory over Utah on Saturday.
Hartsock scored 14 points in the second half alone to help the Cougars (8-2) break out of a first-half shooting slump and hand the Utes their eighth straight loss.
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Josh Watkins had 14 points and five assists to lead the Utes (1-8) in his first game after serving a one-game suspension for violating team rules.
BYU has won six straight and 10 of the last 11 in the rivalry series. The Cougars and the Utes met for the first time in a nonconference game since both schools left the Mountain West Conference at the end of last season.
After Utah pulled within 26-22 on Cedric Martin's 3- pointer, Hartsock made three baskets to fuel a 10-0 run. His 3- pointer with 13:52 left made it 36-22 and the Cougars led by double figures the rest of the way. Abouo's 3-pointer put BYU up 50-30 with 5:57 to play.
Poor shooting and sloppy play set the tone for both teams in the first half.
BYU missed eight of its first nine shots and shot just 27 percent from the field before halftime. The Utes missed 16 of their final 18 shots in the first half and made only 18 percent in the period. The teams combined for 14 turnovers.
The Utes kept the game close for much of the half, but Hartsock hit three free throws to push BYU's lead to 19-13 with 5:02 left in the half. Brock Zylstra followed up by draining a pair of 3-pointers to give the Cougars a 25-17 halftime lead.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
