This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It's good to be big.

As Jakob Poeltl slammed to finish a coast-to-coast transition play with a pair of Bengals trailing helplessly in his wake, that was the one sure takeaway from a game in which the Utes dominated their shorter Big Sky opponent.

The Utes bullied Idaho State on Friday night in a return to the Huntsman Center, notching a 102-72 win. It hardly seemed sporting, with Utah sporting a big size advantage and finding the means to use every inch of it to improve to 5-1 on the year.

"In generally, we were the taller and more physical team, I'd say," said Poeltl, with hardly a slight trace of sweat on his brow. "We knew we were going to have to go inside."

Poeltl led with 19 points and 11 rebounds while guarding the perimeter with the finesse of a defensive back with 4 blocks. He also had the highlight of the night with his steal and fast-break dunk in the first half.

Kyle Kuzma also bounced back from a cold Puerto Rico performance, putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds. His top play came on second half alley-oop from Brandon Taylor — one of a chain of "energy plays" that kept the Utes rolling.

The Utes won the rebounding battle, 42-26, loaded up with 48 points in the paint and blocking 10 shots. The bench emptied out by the finish, as 13 Utes ended up with points in the game, and the bench scored a season-high 46 points.

A Jake Connor jump shot — the first of the walk-on's career — put Utah in triple digits for the first time this season.

"We've got a deep team, I think we need to keep people engaged," Larry Krystkowiak said. "As I've said at the beginning of the year, we're going to need different guys on different nights."

Notably, the Utes got good efforts from senior Dakarai Tucker (9 points) and junior Gabe Bealer (12 points, who had season-best performances.

In a ho-hum opening, the home team traded buckets with the visiting Big Sky squad, even allowing them to lead twice. The Bengals hit five of their first seven shots in the game, taking advantage of some defensive confusion on Utah's end.

But in the final 10 minutes of the half, the Utes found their form. Attacking the rim with Kuzma and Poeltl, Utah used its length to go 17 for 25 inside the arc in the first half. The post men combined for 25 first-half points and 13 rebounds.

Utah also locked down on defense, as the Bengals missed their final nine shots of the half to give Utah a 57-28 lead after 20 minutes.

"I think we did pretty well contesting shots, blocking shots and keeping people in front of us for the most part," Kuzma said.

It was Utah's 26th win over Idaho State, and the 18th straight win over the Bengals at the Huntsman Center. But coming up next Wednesday, a more significant rival will take the floor in Salt Lake City: BYU.

The Utes escaped Provo last year with a 65-61 win in a physical match-up against their uptempo rival. Krystkowiak, who wore a bright red corduroy jacket to the last meeting, said he was looking forward to renewing the series.

"It's kind of what college basketball is all about, really — these rivalries that have existed for a long time. We've got to have our A game."

Twitter: @kylegoon —

Utah 102, Idaho State 72

IDAHO ST. (2-3) • Lennox 2-5 0-0 4, Luzcando 4-6 0-0 11, Telfair 2-14 7-7 13, Wilson 2-6 3-3 7, Faruq-Bey 5-12 3-4 15, Nwosuh 3-5 0-0 9, Nakken 0-1 0-0 0, Topalovic 2-2 1-3 5, Boyd 0-1 0-0 0, Chivichyan 0-3 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Ingram 3-6 2-2 8. Totals 23-61 16-19 72.

UTAH (5-1) • Loveridge 3-7 0-0 7, Kuzma 5-11 7-8 17, Poeltl 7-11 5-6 19, Taylor 2-3 0-0 4, Bonam 3-7 2-2 9, Chapman 2-2 0-0 4, Wright 2-2 0-0 5, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Eastman 0-1 0-0 0, Connor 1-1 0-0 2, Tucker 3-6 0-0 9, Reyes 0-0 2-2 2, Ogbe 1-2 5-6 8, Bealer 5-5 0-0 12, Montgomery 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 36-60 21-24 102.

Halftime—Utah 57-28.

3-Point Goals—Idaho St. 10-19 (Nwosuh 3-4, Luzcando 3-4, Telfair 2-3, Faruq-Bey 2-4, Boyd 0-1, Chivichyan 0-3), Utah 9-19 (Tucker 3-6, Bealer 2-2, Wright 1-1, Ogbe 1-1, Bonam 1-2, Loveridge 1-4, Kuzma 0-1, Taylor 0-1, Eastman 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Idaho St. 26 (Topalovic 5), Utah 41 (Kuzma, Poeltl 11). Assists—Idaho St. 13 (Telfair 5), Utah 20 (Loveridge 4). Total Fouls—Idaho St. 21, Utah 18. A—13,185.