Carroll shines in loss to Jazz

(This article originally ran in the July 23 edition of the Post Register.)

SALT LAKE CITY -- Tuesday's Rocky Mountain Revue NBA summer league game at Salt Lake Community College between the Jazz and Nets featured several big names.

Utah State's Jaycee Carroll, Jazz second-year player Morris Almond, 10th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft Brook Lopez and Jazz 2008 first-round draft pick Kosta Koufos all played significant minutes.

But in the end, the virtually unknown Tyler Brazelton was the key to

Utah's 87-79 win. Brazelton didn't play a single minute in the first half but scored 12 points in the fourth

quarter to help the Jazz pull away from New Jersey and secure the victory.

The 6-foot point guard from Western Kentucky dazzled the crowd with an array of offensive moves. His reverse layup with 1:31 left in the game gave the Jazz an 82-77 lead and effectively quashed any hopes for a New Jersey comeback.

Local favorite Carroll finished with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, far outshining his two-point outing in Monday's game against Golden State.

His steal, layup and free throw with 40 seconds to go in the first half gave the Nets a 45-32 lead and drew raucous cheers from the crowd.

"I had a lot of fans, friends and family come support me," Carroll said. "It was good to see all of those people."

Almond led all scorers with 24 points, but he shot only 4-of-11 from the field. He made up for it by going 14-of-18 from the free-throw line.

Lopez struggled offensively most of the game and shot only 2-of-11 from the field.

Lopez helped his team in other ways by pulling down 11 rebounds and playing effective interior defense against the Jazz big men.

"I just didn't finish well tonight," Lopez said. "But this is a learning experience, and I just need to cherish every game and take full advantage."

The Nets jumped out to a 22-13 lead after one quarter, as the Jazz shot 26 percent as a team and turned the ball over five times.

The Jazz kept it close through the second quarter, and trailed 45-35 at the half.

Utah center Kyrylo Fesenko seemed lost at times and was unable to secure easy defensive rebounds on at least two occasions. He finished with four points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.

The Nets next play Dallas on Friday, while the Jazz will face Atlanta later that same day.