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SALT LAKE CITY -- Kyle Kuzma posted career highs with 23 points and 19 rebounds as Utah defeated Northwest Nazarene 81-37 in its season opener Saturday evening.Utah fans got their first full glimpse of the new-look Utes and their roster consisting of just two legitimate contributors from last season.This morning, I was just extra turned up, Kuzma said. I dont for whatever reason. Its game day.I tried to bring energy. I think that was the biggest thing. When we have energy-givers, then everybody feeds off of that.The Utes struggled mightily for the first 16 minutes of the first half until a 17-3 run basically put the game away after they led 36-20 at halftime. Utah shot under 40 percent most of the first half as the offense seemed to have no real direction.Kuzma started passively, like the rest of the team, but picked up the aggression and finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the first half alone. He highlighted the 17-3 stretch with a spinning floater while being fouled. Teammate Tyler Rawson added 13 points.Its a starting point for us, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. We had guys that tried to push the issue a little bit too much. Didnt trust the offense. We cleaned it up a little bit and got some composure in the second half.Some of its jitters. Got to find some consistency and some roles.Northwest Nazarene, which was playing a back-to-back after defeating Simpson University 92-67 on Friday, shot just 16.4 percent from the field and 1 for 25 from behind the arc. Maurice Jones scored 11 points. The 37 points are the fourth fewest Utah has allowed since 1982.Obviously, we played a team that was much bigger and more talented to their level, Northwest Nazarene coach Scott Flemming said. I never would have thought we would shoot the ball so poorly tonight. We have a really good shooting team. We hit eleven 3s last night against different competition.Even the open looks we got, I think that was the biggest problem. Now when youre not making shots, all of the other things kind of are obvious, too -- their rebounding, their size, all those kind of things. It hurts in transition. It still is a good game for us to have.BIG PICTURENorthwest Nazarene: No harm, no foul for the Crusaders. As a Division 2 member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the loss doesnt count toward their regular-season record. Plus, they have to feel pretty good about the early parts of the first half against a Pac-12 program that has reached the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons.Utah: Theres lots of work to do for a Utah team with just two returners having played significant minutes. The offense had no flow for much of the game outside of the spurts when Kuzma took over. The defensive intensity came and went. The Utes must improve before Pac-12 play or they will live up (or down) to their preseason pick of finishing No. 8 in the league.SHORT STAFFEDUtah will be without newcomers David Collette and Sedrick Barefield until the Utes play face Prairie View A&M on Dec. 17. The two will miss the first eight games due to transfer rules, but are expected to be starters once they return. Sophomore Parker Van Dyke, freshman Devon Daniels and redshirt freshman Jayce Johnson started alongside returning starters Kuzma and Lorenzo Bonam.BALL CONTROLThe Utes had 19 turnovers, including seven from Bonam, who had six at halftime. Krystkowiak said the goal was 12. Bonam struggled all around with just five points and going 0 for 4 after making his first basket.UP NEXTNorthwest Nazarene: The Crusaders face Portland Bible in Caldwell, Idaho, in the Taco Bell Shootout.Utah: The Utes host Concordia on Tuesday and Coppin State on Friday as they open the season with three games in six days. Gareth Bale Jersey . 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Aaron Ramsey Wales Jersey . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The most intriguing new face turning heads at the Denver Broncos off-season workouts isnt Montee Ball or Sylvester Williams. Its third-year tight end Julius Thomas. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound former power forward is finally healthy after spending the bulk of his first two seasons with the Denver Broncos dealing with a bum right ankle. Treating every practice like its game day, Thomas is finally flashing the skills that made him an attractive prospect coming out of Portland State in 2011 even though he had played just one season of college football. Last week, he outraced the safeties and hauled in a 50-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning. This week, he stretched out his long, lean body for a one-handed grab in the flat before weaving his way into the end zone. "It feels great. I mean, just being able to go out there, and run around, and feel healthy," Thomas said. "For so long, I feel like I was dragging a leg around. Just to go out there and feel like Im playing at a high level, its really encouraging and I feel blessed." Cornerback Champ Bailey said hes not surprised Thomas performance. "Hes been doing that for the last two years, it is just getting that opportunity to do it with the first team and getting some reps there," he said. "That is great because he has the talent. Its just all about learning how to play this game and the mental part of it. Weve seen him mature a lot over the past two years." Thomas was a power forward at Portland State who was a bully in the blocks, swatting 62 shots and pulling down 520 rebounds while leading the Vikings to two NCAA tournament appearances. But basketball wasnt really in his blood. He said he never quite felt like the hardwood was really his canvas, figuring hed be more at home pulling down passes than rebounds, blocking linebackers instead of shots. So, once he exhausted his basketball eligibility, and with one scholarship season left, he contacted Vikings football coach Nigel Burton about stepping onto the football field for the first time. Thomas was a quick study, catching 29 passes for 453 yards and earning All-Big Sky Conference first-team honours. His stock soared at the East-West Shrine Game, where he captured the attention of scouts with his athleticism and grabbed a 5-yard TD pass. That was enough to entice the Broncos into selecting him in the fourth round that year, hoping theyd discovered in Thomas the next Antonio Gates, who made a smooth transition from the basketball court at Kent State to the football field and became a perennial Pro Bowler for the San Diego Chargers. Thomas said his basketball background helped him navigate the crash course of NFL football.dddddddddddd He makes split-second decisions, deciphers defences, anticipates the action, adjusts on the fly just like he did on the basketball floor. He said shielding a defensive back to give the quarterback an opening is just like posting up a player under the basket to give the point guard a clear passing lane. But Thomas injured his right ankle on his first -- and so far only -- reception of his pro career, and after working out with Manning after the quarterbacks arrival in Denver in March 2012, he discovered he needed an operation that sidelined him again. Hes played just nine games in his NFL career. In this era of ever bigger tight ends like New Englands Rob Gronkowski and offensive mainstays like Gates, Thomas said he can fit right in. "In my mind, I can do the same kinds of things they can," he said. If he can stay healthy, hell get the chance to prove it this season. Thomas is getting more work than he expected this off-season, especially in the passing game, because Joel Dreessen recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and wont be back until training camp in late July. "Its been a good deal for Julius in the sense that he gets more opportunities and more reps," coach John Fox said. "Hes a guy that we have a good feeling about his abilities. Now its just a matter of getting him in there, and this gives him a good opportunity." Hes making the most of it, compiling his own highlight reel of jaw-dropping plays. "Im proud for him because he came in and when he first started, everybody thought he was going to be a great player and then he got injured and had his ups and downs, but I knew he was going to be good, because he was a basketball player and most of the basketball players that play football can play," wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said. "To see him out here doing the things hes doing is amazing." Manning loves having another big receiver lining up with him. "Hes a great athlete. A big target. If you cant complete a ball to Julius as a quarterback, something is wrong with you," Manning said. "He has a great wingspan and great size and jumping ability. I think hes just continuing to get better for us." Thomas made the most of his late start in college football and he aims to do the same in the NFL now that his right ankle is mended. "Its been a frustrating experience but I try not to focus on that," Thomas said. "Its just about making it to the next day, the next play and coming out here and trying to improve, and really, thats where all my focus is now. Im doing what I can to get better." ' ' '