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NCAA Tournament Recap (Arkansas St-UTAH)
Posted: Sat March 13, 1999 at 1:00 a.m EST NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Hanno Mottola scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half as Utah stifled Chico Fletcher and 15th-seeded Arkansas State, 80-58, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region. Alex Jensen scored 17 of his 18 in the first half for the Utes (28-4), who ran their school-record winning streak to 23 games. But Utah had trouble for the first 25 minutes trying to contain the 5-6 Fletcher, whose explosive speed gave the Utes fits. "He's good for nearly 20 points and then another 20 points more from his assists for somewhere around 40 points a game," said Utes coach Rick Majerus about Fletcher. "I didn't want him to beat us." Fletcher was held to six points the final 20 minutes and had 21 points for the Indians (18-12), who were making their NCAA Tournament debut after winning the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Eric Beatty also scored 17 for Arkansas State. Utah will play 10th-seeded Miami of Ohio in the second round Sunday. Majerus improved to 7-0 in first-round NCAA Tournament games at Utah and 8-0 overall. Utes star point guard Andre Miller left the game late in the contest after aggravating an injury to his left hand. He did not play the final 2:30 of the contest and finished with eight points, four assists and four steals. "I thought he played a real good game," added Majerus about Miller. "They kept an eye on him and they were aware of where he was. He'll play Sunday. He has a bruised, swollen left hand and has had it for 2-3 weeks. I sat him out of practice this week and he about cried. He loves the game. He has a high pain threshold." After a close first half, the Indians were within 39-38 on an 18-footer by Beatty. Utah had a 2-for-1 as Jeremy Killion's free throws offset one by DeShawn Denson. Mottola then began to assert himself on the offensive end, hitting two free throws and a 3-pointer around a steal and lay-in by Miller as Utah's lead grew to 48-39 with 13:26 to go. Fletcher had a free throw and C.J. Pepper had a pair to make it a six-point game, but the Utes would reel off 15 straight points and hold Arkansas State scoreless for nearly six minutes. Tony Harvey got things going with a 3-pointer before Mottola sank two free throws and converted a three-point play to give Utah a 56-42 advantage with 10:07 to go. The 6-7 Harvey, who shadowed Fletcher for most of the second half, added two free throws and a lay-in before Mottola drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to complete the run, giving Utah a 63-42 bulge with 6:50 left. "I just tried to keep my head up," said Mottola, who was 6-of-15 from the field. "I stepped out on my defense in the second half and that always helps my offensive game. I was just trying to play my own game and get some open looks." Harvey came off the bench to score 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. The Utes made 13-of-22 from the field in the second half and shot 48 percent (23-of-48) overall. Jensen pulled down 11 rebounds as Utah held a 40-24 rebounding advantage. Fletcher was 7-of-15 from the field as the Indians shot only 36 percent (17-of-47). Fletcher entered the game averaging 8.5 assists but was held to three and committed six of Arkansas State's 16 turnovers.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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