Utah Basketball’s Losing Streak Reaches 10 Games After Falling To Washington In 2OT
Jan 29, 2022, 5:50 PM
Utah Utes center Branden Carlson (35) goes to the hoop ahead of Sacramento State Hornets center Jonathan Komagum (21) at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah men’s basketball team gave a great effort but it wasn’t enough as they fell to Washington in double overtime 77-73 on Saturday.
Branden Carlson led Utah with 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss to Washington, their 10th straight. Marco Anthony recorded 13 points and nine rebounds, while Rollie Worster added 10 points.
The Pac-12’s leading scorer Terrell Brown Jr. led the Huskies with 30 points. Nate Roberts chipped in 11 points and Jamal Bey had 10 points.
Guys played their hearts out! pic.twitter.com/mEaMue8kjY
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 30, 2022
Utah Basketball Has Strong First Half Against Washington
In the first 10 minutes of the game, points were hard to come by. The score was tied at nine at that point. Things improved for both teams but Utah was performing well on offense against Washington’s zone defense.
The only issue was foul trouble for Utah in the first 20 minutes. Rollie Worster, Marco Anthony and Lazar Stefanovic all had two fouls. Washington was also getting a lot of buckets in the paint. They had 20 points in the paint in the first half, compared to four from the Runnin’ Utes.
Terrell Brown Jr. hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Huskies a 34-30 halftime lead. Worster had 10 points to lead the Utes. David Jenkins Jr. added seven points.
Brown Jr. scored 12 points in the first half for UW, while Nate Roberts chipped in 11 points.
Utah Forces Overtime With Great Defensive Effort In Second Half
In Utah’s loss to Washington State on Wednesday, the Cougars started the second half on a 22-2 run. After Utah scored right out of the gates against Washington in the second half, the Huskies went on a 6-0 run and the Runnin’ Utes went scoreless for 2:47. With Deja Vu potentially taking place, Gabe Madsen hit a three-pointer to stop the run.
An 11-0 run for Utah was massive that ended with a three-pointer by Stefanovic to give the Utes a 43-42 lead. The Runnin’ Utes got a big boost from Marco Anthony, who on back-to-back possessions was able to convert three-point plays.
Heading down the stretch, Utah went over three minutes without scoring. Washington had a 52-51 lead with over five minutes remaining in the game. Anthony stopped that drought with a nice midrange jumper to put the Utes back on top by one.
Approaching crunch time, Utah was getting after it on the offensive glass. It paid off when Lazar Stefanovic hit a three-pointer off of an offensive rebound. Utah was up 58-55 with 1:54 remaining. Marco Anthony split two free throws to put Utah up 59-57 with 44 seconds left. The Runnin’ Utes had the ball after two chances to tie or take the lead for Washington.
Utah turned over the inbounds pass but was able to force a jump ball with the possession arrow favoring the Runnin’ Utes. Stefanovic was called for a travel, which gave the Huskies the ball with 28 seconds left. Terrell Brown Jr. knocked down both free throws to tie the game with 16 seconds left.
Both Gach couldn’t get the floater to go and the game went into overtime.
Double Overtime In Seattle
Just 38 seconds into overtime and Rollie Worster fouled out of the game. Utah had a four-point lead in OT but the Huskies tied the game after the Runnin’ Utes committed three costly turnovers. As the one-minute mark was approaching and the shot clock running down, Branden Carlson hit a big three-pointer at the top of the arc to put the Utes up 68-66.
Brown Jr. tied the game with a high-arching floater in the paint. Stefanovic was called for a travel. Then Both Gach stole the ball from UW but couldn’t get the game-winning shot and the game went to double overtime.
Daejon Davis didn’t score the entire game but made a three-pointer to start the second overtime and gave Washington the lead. Jenkins split free throws at the other end then the Huskies gained a lot of momentum. Cole Bajema drilled a triple, followed by a turnover by Both Gach. Washington was up 74-69 with 3:08 left in the second overtime.
Washington was able to seal the win by hitting enough free throws in the final minutes.
Utah dropped their record to 8-14 overall and 1-11 in Pac-12 play. They will return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center to face Oregon State on Thursday, February 3 at 7 p.m. MT on ESPNU.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.
