Turnovers Hurt Utes In Loss To No. 19 Kentucky
Dec 15, 2018, 4:54 PM | Updated: 6:01 pm
(Alina Rogers, Utah Athletics)
(Alina Rogers, Utah Athletics)
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Utah had a tall task in front of them as they faced No. 19 Kentucky at legendary Rupp Arena. Turnovers and a scoring drought in the second half was the difference as the Wildcats won 88-61.
Both Gach led the Utes with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Jayce Johnson added 11 points for the Utes. Utah committed 18 turnovers to Kentucky’s six and the Wildcats scored 34 points off of Utah’s miscues.
Keldon Johnson scored 24 points including six 3-pointers to lead Kentucky. Tyler Herro added 17 points and Reid Travis chipped in 16 points.
Utah Fast Start Led To Scoring Drought In First Half
Utah had a strong start as they led 12-7 early but Kentucky stormed back on a 7-0. In the first half, Keldon Johnson scored 15 points hitting his first five 3-point attempts.
The Utes committed 10 first half turnovers and the Wildcats capitalized with 17 points off of the Utah miscues. Both Gach was the reason why Utah stayed close to Kentucky as he scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
Kentucky ended the first half on a 9-4 run to lead 41-27 at the halftime break.
Utes Stayed Close Early In Second Half
Utah looked like they came out more motivated to start the second half as they outscored the Wildcats 20-15 in the first 8:41 of the second half as Kentucky was leading 56-47.
Gach scored eight points during that stretch to put his total up to 20 with 11:19 left in the game.
After that stretch, Kentucky went on a 14-0 run over the next five minutes before Riley Battin hit a three pointer for Utah. The Wildcats were up big 70-50 with six minutes left in the game.
That tough run would put the game away for Kentucky as they take the win.
Utes fall to the No. 19 ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
Final score 88 to 61.#GoUtes🏀🔴 pic.twitter.com/vwruFHtqLt
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) December 15, 2018
Next Up
The Utes fall to 4-5 on the season and have fallen below .500 for the first time since 2013 when they finished the season with a 15-18 record.
They will return home to the Huntsman Center on Monday when they face Florida A&M at 6 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.
