Transfers show a bit of what they can do in Runnin’ Utes exhibition win

Don’t be remiss if there were some players that didn’t sound as familiar who made key contributions during the University of Utah’s exhibition victory over Westminster at the Huntsman Center on Wednesday evening.

Two of the four transfers that the Runnin’ Utes brought in this offseason were in the starting lineup for the 84-61 win — guard Cole Bajema and big man Lawson Lovering.

Another transfer, Hunter Erickson, also played significant minutes.

“I think all of our new guys will impact this program, all in their own way,” Utah coach Craig Smith said.

At least on Wednesday, playing against a Division II opponent, the trio delivered an overall positive performance.

Lovering, the Colorado transfer, scored Utah’s first points and had 15 points in 18 minutes. He added two rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block, though he turned the ball over twice and was just 2 of 7 from the free-throw line.

“He is a highly intelligent guy that has a big-time motor,” Smith said.

Bajema, who transferred from Washington and has been called an “elite shooter” by both his head coach and teammates, led the Utes with 12 first-half points.

“I think you saw a bit of his playmaking tonight. We saw it in glimpses but he’s even better than we thought he would be for us,” Smith said.

He ended the night with team highs in points (18) and assists (four) in 25 minutes — Bajema made 4 of 5 3-pointers and was a perfect 5 of 5 from the free-throw line while showcasing an ability to slash to the basket.

Erickson, the former BYU and Salt Lake Community College guard, scored 16 points — he was a perfect 4 of 4 from 3-point range — and added a team-high three steals, three assists and a blocked shot while playing point guard, all while playing 16 minutes.

“Hunter knows how to play, he’s got a great feel for the game. He’s a competitor and it was great for him to be in attack mode like that,” Smith said.

It was encouraging that the Utes’ first three 3-pointers of the game all came from transfers — Lovering got Utah’s first points on a 3, then Bajema and Erickson added their own.

“We wanted to get older, all three of those guys are older guys, and two of them have real-game experience in our league,” Smith said.

The coach also gave a hat tip to true freshman Jake Wahlin, who is returning to basketball after a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wahlin had three points, three assists and one steal in 19 minutes.

“His stats may not be eye-popping but he had the biggest plus-minus on our team, plus-28. When he’s in the game, he keeps it simple, makes the right plays,” Smith said.

That was a four-possession sequence in the second half that showcased what some of these newbies can do — Erickson hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Bajema then answered with a 3 of his own, and Erickson followed with a steal and slam to cap an 11-2 spurt that pushed the Runnin’ Utes’ lead out to 70-47.

“Cole and Hunter kind of sprung us and we showed some explosiveness there, where we can put some points on you in a hurry,” Smith said.

Utah ended the night making 12 of 24 3-pointers — five of its six buckets at one stretch in the back half of the second half were all 3-pointers.

Utah also had 22 assists on 29 made field goals in the win — 12 of those assists came from the newcomers.

Utah opens the regular season on Monday at home against Eastern Washington (7:30 p.m. MDT) as part of a doubleheader, with the women opening their season a few hours earlier against Mississippi Valley State (4 p.m.) at the Huntsman Center.

3 other takeaways

1. Who was in the starting 5. In addition to Lovering starting at forward and Bajema at guard, fifth-year star Branden Carlson was at center and veteran leaders Gabe Madsen and Rollie Worster also played along the guard line.

Branden Carlson had his usual solid night, finishing as the team’s fourth double-digit scorer with 10 points, four rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot in just 15 minutes of work.

Madsen struggled to shoot — he had two points while shooting 1 of 8 from the floor and 0 of 5 from 3. It’s not worrisome — this is the guy who led the Utes with 62 3-pointers last year, even while missing seven games due to injury.

“Certainly that’s not going to happen very often,” Smith said.

Worster had a solid all-around stat line, with five points, four rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. He showed good chemistry with Lovering on one play in the second half, when he made a nice pass to a hustling Loveridge near the rim. Worster hit him in stride with the pass, and it led to a Westminster goaltend and two points.

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2. What the frontcourt rotation looks like. Smith was overall impressed with a frontcourt rotation that included Branden Carlson, Lovering and sophomore Keba Keita, as well as the lengthy Ben Carlson coming off the bench.

The coach said he didn’t intend for Branden Carlson, the team’s two-time all-Pac-12 honoree, to play just 15 minutes, but as the game progressed he wanted to get other guys some minutes.

“It’s a fine line because you want to keep guys in a rhythm but at the same time, he’s a fifth-year guy. … We got out of him what we needed to,” Smith said of BC.

The combination of Lovering and Branden Carlson had an impressive sequence in the back half of the first 20 minutes.

The Utes pressured Westminster into back-to-back turnovers, and both times the steals ended in inside points for Utah — one a dunk from Branden Carlson and the other an and-one for Lovering.

Keita, meanwhile, had eight points — including a throwdown dunk — and added four rebounds, three assists and three of the Utes’ seven blocked shots while logging 19 minutes.

“I love our front court. We can do a lot of things. We’re very versatile,” Smith said.

3. Things to improve — sloppy start, poor free-throw shooting. Utah had some early turnovers and sloppy play in general, as the Runnin’ Utes led by just one point, 16-15 with 11:48 to play in the first half.

Smith thought Branden Carlson and Lovering helped stabilize the Utes around the 10-minute mark, and Utah used a 7-0 run to help the lead eventually extend into double-digits late in the first half.

“That’s partly why we play these games, because it’s the first time for this team to play in the Huntsman, in front of fans, going through game prep … and just all of that,” Smith said.

Utah also was just 14 of 25 from the free-throw line.

“We left some empty possessions out there that way,” Smith said.