Coach Jim Boylen and his staff stayed up well past midnight in Australia reviewing game film of their 97-96 victory over the Perth Wildcats, but he made time to offer a few comments about the first game of the team's summertime exhibition tour.

"I really thought we went out there and competed," he said. "I'm proud of how we battled back after falling behind. It was kind of a bend, but don't break situation."

The Utes fought back from a 16-point deficit in the second half -- they trailed 57-43 at halftime -- and won on Johnnie Bryant's lay-up with two seconds left.

"I was a little disappointed with the way we played on the defensive end in the first half," Boylen said. "We just didn't bring the intensity that we need to have to be successful. I thought we were tentative from the start and our communication was not where it needed to be. Give the guys credit though, they did a better job in the second half."

Center Luke Nevill scored 13 of his 16 points after halftime to lead the comeback in front of his hometown fans, and Boylen said he was "very happy" with the performance.

"I'm glad he had the chance to come home and play in front of his family," Boylen said. "The arena was sold out tonight and I think that made it really special for him. ... One of the things I was most pleased with was that our conditioning was great. Luke gave us 40 minutes, which is something we really needed from him to win."

Among the other performances, forward Kim Tillie scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. However, the Utes made only 15 of 24 free throws and committed 18 turnovers. The starting lineup included point guard Curtis Eatmon, Bryant at shooting guard, forwards Stephen Weigh and Shaun Green and Nevill.