Utah Basketball Grinds Out Victory Over Utah Valley
Dec 15, 2020, 7:39 PM | Updated: 7:40 pm
Utah Utes guard Rylan Jones (15) looks to pass as Utah Valley Wolverines guard Jaden McClanahan (10) and Utah Valley Wolverines forward Evan Cole (2) block his path during game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. (Steve Griffin, Deseret News)
(Steve Griffin, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It wasn’t the prettiest way to get a win but Utah picked up a 75-67 win over Utah Valley.
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The Runnin’ Utes hosted the Wolverines on Tuesday, December 15.
Utah Valley was in foul mode in the final minute of the game and was able to send Branden Carlson to the line. Utah was up five at the time with 30 seconds left when Timmy Allen got the offensive rebound on Carlson’s missed free throw.
Allen finished with a team-high 19 points, including 10 points in the second half. The junior also had 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 8-of-17 shooting from the field.
Utah ended the game on a 7-0 run.
FINAL
Utes grind out the win and improve to 3-1 on the season.#GoUtes #Pac12Hoops #GoUVU pic.twitter.com/5zQ7OSx8Ix
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 16, 2020
Four Utes Score In Double Figures
Utah had four players that scored in double figures. Other than Timmy Allen, the Runnin’ Utes had 14 points from Branden Carlson. He scored 12 points in the first half before knocking down a big shot in the lane with about 1:30 left in the game to give the Utes a 5-point lead. Carlson also had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks, while shooting 6-of-10 from the floor.
Rylan Jones and Alfonso Plummer each added 12 points apiece. Both knocked down two three-points and combined for 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.
The Utes shot 47 percent from the field and 40 percent from the three-point line.
Great hustle from Jones to get this steal after knocking down both FTs. Timeout Utes.
📲 https://t.co/BKtjkbllso#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/nSrpwai5PZ
— Utah Basketball🏀 (w/ 😷) (@UtahMBB) December 16, 2020
UVU Forward Goes Off
Utah Valley forward Evan Cole scored a career-high 31 points. His previous best was 16 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds while shooting 12-of-16 from the field and 6-for-8 at the free throw line.
Trey Woodbury was the only other Wolverine to score in double figures with 10 points, while also dishing out 8 assists.
The Wolverines shot 51 percent from the field and 33 percent from downtown.
Utah improved their record to 3-1 on the season. They will play their final non-conference game of the year on Friday when they host the Idaho Vandals at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.
