Sophomore center Jakob Poeltl scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and sophomore forward Kyle Kuzma added 23 points and 12 boards to lead No. 16 Utah to an 82-71 victory over Southern Utah on Friday night.

Senior forward Jordan Loveridge added 24 points for the Utes, who overcame a sluggish first half start. Utah (1-0) improved to 9-2 all-time against their in-state rival and avenged a 76-73 loss in the previous meeting in the series in 2006.

Guards Trey Kennedy and Travon Langston and forward A.J. Hess each scored 13 points for the Thunderbirds. SUU (0-1) shot 10-for-19 (53 percent) from 3-point range, but could not overcome Utah's dominance around the basket. The Utes had a 41-29 advantage on the boards and 44-30 edge on points in the paint.

Southern Utah put an early scare into the Utes after a hot start. The T-Birds made 9 of 11 shots to open the game -- including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. It helped SUU stay in front much of the first half.

The T-Birds led by as many as six points when Langston made a layup to put SUU up 23-17.

Utah turned to its defense to spark a rally later in the half. The Utes forced a pair of turnovers to fuel their own 7-0 run, going back in front 24-23 on a layup from Poeltl.