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One by one, Utah's basketball players greeted Rick Hill in the locker room Sunday afternoon, prior to taking the Huntsman Center court against UCLA.

The No. 10 Utes have dedicated their season to the father of assistant coach Andy Hill, and his pregame appearance among them — and what followed over the next 40 minutes — took the tribute to a whole other level. Utah's defense, Andy Hill's primary area of responsibility, overwhelmed the Bruins in a 71-39 rout.

Having moved to the Salt Lake Valley, Rick Hill is being treated for a brain tumor and finally was able to attend a Utah game. The Utes responded with a dominating performance against an iconic program. At one stage, the Utes held a 46-17 lead — making this adventure similar to some of the mismatches they were involved in three years ago, but completely different.

For one glorious afternoon, everyone associated with the program could rejoice in how far the Utes have come, with Andy Hill as a key member of Larry Krystkowiak's coaching staff.

The pregame scene was "an emotional moment," said Ute forward Jordan Loveridge. "It just motivated us even more. Anything that we think is hard in a game, it's not as hard as what other people are dealing with."

The honor included the understated, handwritten "RH" tribute taped to the suit lapels of the Ute coaches. If you know Krystkowiak, you know this entire episode was not some inspirational gimmick — rather, a heartfelt gesture to a man he has known for a long time, with Andy Hill initially having worked for him a decade ago at Montana.

The Hills had left the Huntsman Center by the time the postgame news conference ended, but the father and son could only have enjoyed everything that unfolded in this game. The Utes are "having a lot of fun and taking a lot of pride" in their defense, Krystkowiak said. Andy Hill's defense limited UCLA to 28.8-percent shooting in yet another case of the Utes continually contesting shots and frustrating opponents. These guys revel in the misery of visitors who come into the Huntsman Center.

Rick Hill is another story, obviously. "He means a great deal to our team," Krystkowiak said, "as I know our team means a great deal to him."

Cancer is a familiar opponent around this building. Krystkowiak's mother died of Hodgkin's disease when he was 8. Ute athletic trainer Trevor Jameson is dealing with a form of cancer and Mac Brennan, a son of Utah administrator Kyle Brennan, was diagnosed with leukemia.

Rick Hill's condition involves "a one-in-a-million type of cancer," Krystkowiak said, and he's not responding to treatment as well as hoped.

That's not keeping Krystkowiak and the Utes from supporting him. Sunday games in the Huntsman Center will always feel weird, but they come with Pac-12 membership. The announced attendance of 10,566 for UCLA's visit undoubtedly was affected by the schedule. The Utes' performance made it a memorable day, though, as the players followed through on their coach's determination to make Rick Hill feel good.

Krystkowiak is not stopping there. He's asking for prayers, trusting members of the Capital Church of Salt Lake City and others to give this fight their best effort.

"We're trying to summon up a miracle," Krystkowiak said.

Krystkowiak is always grounded, with "you're never as good as you think you are" among his standard sayings. The Utes were terrific Sunday, delivering a phenomenal defensive effort and producing individual scoring totals of 11-10-9-8-7-6-6-5-4-3-2. That's good stuff, especially for a basketball steward such as Rick Hill who could really appreciate it.

Winning cures everything, right? Well, no. Not everything. But on this Sunday, the Utes certainly did everything they could to aid in the fight.

Twitter: @tribkurt