Utah Utes fall to USC Trojans On Road
Jan 14, 2023, 10:19 PM | Updated: Jan 17, 2023, 9:13 am
Utah Utes center Branden Carlson (35) defends Stanford Cardinal guard Tyrell Terry (3) during a Pac-12 basketball game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
LOS ANGELES – The Utah Utes travelled to the Galen Center in California to take on the USC Trojans on Saturday.
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The Utes are coming off of a tough loss against No. 7 UCLA, 68-49. The Trojans last game was a 7-point home victory against the Colorado Buffaloes.
USC has been tough to beat at home so far this season with a record of 8-1 in the Galen Center.
First Half
Marco Anthony scored the first points of the game for either side after getting fouled on a mid-range jumpshot.
Branden Carlson came out swinging after his one-game absence at UCLA. He scored a putback layup and got a rejection on the other end.
He’s baaaaaaaaaaaack‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/khfyf9tsJP
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2023
Wilguens Exacte Jr. subbed in and immediately put three-points on the board off an assist from Marco Anthony.
After missing their first three shots, the Utes came back and made seven of the next eight.
Make that 7-of-8 for the Utes after starting the night 0-for-3!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/SzwYhxCJix
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2023
Ten minutes into the first half, the game was tied at 19.
After going down by two, Branden Carlson hit a big three to take the lead back. He followed up the three with a smooth post-hook on the Utes next possession.
Carlson had 9 of the Utes first 24. He made 4 of his first 6 shots.
The Trojans were shooting very efficiently in the first. They opened up a 13-3 run with a few jumpshots.
.@TreWhite19 is 4/4 from the field!
Trojans on a 13-3 run! pic.twitter.com/ibwjaCJSfL
— USC Men’s Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 15, 2023
The Utes showed off some great ball movement before Carlson got a two-hand dunk.
The ball movement 🤌🤌 pic.twitter.com/FNdtX3NqTs
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2023
Carlson continued to carry the Utes offense. He hit a three on two-straight possessions after his statement dunk. He scored 17 of the Utes 34 points in the first half.
That’s 1⃣7⃣ (3-4 3FGM) first half points for @ballerbranden35!!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/kI3rNKGK6h
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2023
After giving up a three, Worster drove for a lay-in at the end of the half. The score going into the break was 39-34.
At the half pic.twitter.com/UsaKvievMk
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2023
Second Half
Carlson had a nasty tomahawk spike shortly after halftime.
BRANDEN CARLSON, ARE YOU KIDDING 🤯
📺 Pac-12 Network
📱 https://t.co/BqMenn4YBi #Pac12MBB | @UtahMBB pic.twitter.com/7EHVpjPt0h— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 15, 2023
Utah started the second half on a 7-0 run, quickly regaining the lead.
7-0 run to start the game gives us the lead back and forces a Trojan timeout! #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/9gNBV9pSEC
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2023
USC came right back and hit two shots in a row.
.@BoogieEllis drains his 3rd triple of the game!
📺: @Pac12Network
📱: https://t.co/6pfONUjMOc pic.twitter.com/9G1AVttmzp— USC Men’s Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 15, 2023
The Trojans continued to shoot well, over 50% from the field and over 45% from deep. They matched their largest lead of the game, 8, with 11 minutes left in the game.
USC took advantage of a three-on-one fastbreak with an impressive alley-oop play.
DEFENSE ➡️ OFFENSE@TreWhite19 flies high to finish the alley-oop!
📺: @Pac12Network
📱: https://t.co/6pfONUjMOc pic.twitter.com/UWXAU3dve0— USC Men’s Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 15, 2023
After USC took their first double-digit lead, Worster dropped in down to 7 with a three-pointer.
Kobe Johnson, a forward for the Trojans, came down on the other end and finished an acrobatic reverse layup.
Up and under from @iamkobejohnson 👀
Galen Center is getting LOUD!
📺: @Pac12Network
📱: https://t.co/6pfONUjMOc pic.twitter.com/yymUl1B1cF— USC Men’s Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 15, 2023
With five minutes left in the game, the Utes trailed the Trojans by 10-points, 64-54.
The Utes went cold at the wrong time, going 0-6 in three minutes of game time.
After fouling on a few possessions, the lead became too large to come back from. The final score was 71-56.
Guys battled all night, but we fall to the Trojans 71-56. Headed home for a pair of games next week in the Huntsman Center.
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 15, 2023
Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.
