ew months." Hes primed to continue it. His close friend and Ryder Cup partner, Keegan Bradley, was joking around with Mickelson a couple of days ago. Bradley is the defending champion

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah has three players that hail from the state of Michigan and the trio made all the difference against UC Riverside.We just have a little grit to ourselves and we always try and play hard. We get after it, Kyle Kuzma (Flint, Michigan) said.Lorenzo Bonam (Inkster, Michigan) scored a career-high 21 points and Kuzma added 18 to help Utah run past the Highlanders 85-67 on Friday night.Even freshman wing Devon Daniels (Battle Creek, Michigan) got into the act with 14 points and 11 rebounds and sneaked a dig on Kuzma during the post-game press conference.Yep, me and `Zo are pretty tough but I dont know about Koozy, Daniels said with a laugh.Freshman center Jayce Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Utes, who had a 32-point advantage in points scored in the paint.Chance Murray had 17 points and backcourt mate Dikymbe Martin added 15 for the Highlanders (1-3), who were tied with the Utes at 21 midway through the first half. The Highlanders converted 10 of their 21 3-point attempts.Our guards played incredible but Utahs length just really bothered us at the rim, UCR coach Dennis Cutts said.JoJo Zamora hit a 3-pointer to start an 11-0 run that ended shortly before halftime -- the Highlanders struggled to find the lanes that had been available earlier in the game while the Utes started following any misses with putbacks.We just got stops, that was the biggest thing, Kuzma said. Because then we can run and score in transition. That was our mindset for the rest of the game.Utah (4-0) used a 10-0 run that bridged the halves to extend its advantage to 54-34 and coasted from there. To cap the surge, Daniels took a pass from Parker Van Dyke and made a layup with 17:08 to play.Thats how I play. I just attack my opponent . I go hard to the rim, Daniels said.Though the Highlanders couldnt get closer than 15 points down the stretch, they kept Utahs starters in the game until the final minutes, much longer than they played previously this season.BIG PICTUREUC Riverside: Before the game, Cutts said he hopes these tough early games pay dividends in Big West Conference play, where the Highlanders are picked to finish seventh. Despite the lopsided results, he said his players are a confident bunch and are learning game by game.Utah: After the Utes won their first three games by an average of 43 points, the Highlanders provided more resistance and presented a bit more size. With just two returners with significant experience -- Kuzma and Bonam -- the Utes scheduled to avoid any heavyweights before facing Butler next Monday. Thats when Utah will test just how well its young team has gelled.STAT OF THE NIGHTThe Utes dominated the rebounding tally 49-32, including 17 offensive boards. Bonam had a career-best 10 rebounds.REFERENCE POINTTwo years ago, the Highlanders lost to Utah 88-42. We use this game as a reference point of how hard to play and how to play the right way. Well refer to this all year long, Cutts said.Murray added, We came with the right mindset and we played hard. Wed like to have played a bit better but I like the direction were headed.UP NEXTUC Riverside continues its road-heavy start to the season with a trip to UCLA on Wednesday.Utah will host Butler on Monday, essentially the Utes first formidable opponent of the season. The Bulldogs have won their first six games, including a 69-65 win over No. 8 Arizona on a neutral court Friday night.Custom Phillies Jersey China .05 million next season unless Graham and the Saints subsequently agree on a long-term deal. The designation was released Monday after the deadline passed for NFL teams to use franchise or transition tags on players becoming free agents. Custom Richie Ashburn Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. http://www.customphilliesjersey.com/custom-richie-ashburn-jersey-large-76h.html . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Custom Phillies Jerseys . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Authentic Custom Phillies Jersey . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up.AKRON, Ohio -- Phil Mickelson has no doubt what will be most remembered from his career. "It will always be the 04 Masters and showing off my Olympic jumping ability," he cracked of his celebratory hop, which will never be mistaken for Michael Jordan leaving the launch pad. But theres also no question in his mind of what he thinks is his most significant victory. "For me, personally, (winning) the British Open is the greatest accomplishment I could ever get in my career," he said Tuesday, nine days after capturing the claret jug at Muirfield with a stirring final-round flourish. After a week off, preparing on Monday for next weeks PGA Championship and now trying to focus on this weeks Bridgestone Invitational, Mickelson remains stunned that he actually won an event he thought would always be out of his grasp. He still isnt convinced he actually did it. "Im looking forward to in the coming years looking back and remembering Muirfield, remembering the 13 Open and remembering all the things that happened on that back nine," he said during preparations for the Bridgestone Invitational, which begins Thursday. Mickelson always felt an affinity for Augusta National and the Masters, where he won in 2004, 06 and 10. He erased all the speculation of whether he would ever win a major in 2004, when he rolled in the clinching birdie putt on the 18th and "leaped," his spikes barely leaving the ground. "I always knew that I was going to win the Masters because I had played well there for so many years," he said. He also believed he could win a PGA Championship, which he crossed off his list in 2005 at Baltusrol. Sure, there was the lingering heartache of continually being a bridesmaid at the U.S. Open -- a record six times. But at least he was a threat to win it many years. He thought he did this year at Merion. But he was wrong, as were all of those who thought he was a lock to win Americans national championship at some point long before this. "I had something happen to me Sundaay morning of the U.ddddddddddddS. Open that was really weird," he said in an almost conspiratorial tone. "When I woke up, I had dreamt that I had already won the U.S. Open." He felt euphoria. He felt himself lifting the trophy, the gallery roaring for a long awaited and much anticipated triumph. "It took me over a minute to realize that I havent played the final round and that Ive still got to go out and do it," he said. "And I still have not won it." The British Open, however, was never his cup of Earl Grey. He floundered in the wind and sideways rain, struggled in the heather and high weeds, fell apart while others made late charges. He was seldom even near the leaderboard. But that all changed at Muirfield. Hes still pinching himself. "It was so difficult for me to play my best golf in the British Open under those conditions than any other tournament," he said. "To win that is the greatest accomplishment for me in my career." Now hes trying to focus on whats next, instead of what just happened. Thats not easy, but he shows signs of coming out of his post-Muirfield celebration, just in time for the final major of the year, the PGA at Oak Hill. "Theres an opportunity to add to this year and make it every bit as special as it can be," he said, looking ahead. "I want to make sure I give myself every chance to play well because Ive been playing some of my best golf the last few months." Hes primed to continue it. His close friend and Ryder Cup partner, Keegan Bradley, was joking around with Mickelson a couple of days ago. Bradley is the defending champion of the Bridgestone, and teased Mickelson about the lofty title placed on every British Open champion. "We were double-checking that we were going to play (a practice round at the Bridgestone) on Tuesday, and I said, I know youre the Champion Golfer of the Year, but Ill teach you how to play Akron if you want. He only responded with, I won there when you were 9 years old." ' ' '