Shorthanded Utes Forced To Use Small Lineup In Road Loss To Missouri
Dec 18, 2021, 5:44 PM | Updated: 5:46 pm
Utah Utes guard David Jenkins Jr. (1) passes as Abilene Christian Wildcats guard Tobias Cameron (11) hits the boards at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah Runnin’ Utes fell late on the road to the Missouri Tigers 83-75 on Saturday afternoon.
Although it was a close game throughout, Utah crumbled in the closing minutes of the game, going without a field goal in the final 3:05.
The Runnin’ Utes were without Branden Carlson, who was in Utah’s health and safety protocol. That forced head coach Craig Smith to go with a small lineup. He started Rollie Worster, Both Gach, Marco Anthony, Lazar Stefanovic and Riley Battin.
Smith played nine guys in Columbia, Missouri. Battin was saddled with foul trouble throughout the game and Lahat Thioune was struggling, which made it very difficult for Smith to play a big man.
On to the next one. pic.twitter.com/pN61pY33gJ
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) December 18, 2021
The game was tied 11 times and had 21 lead changes.
Three Utes scored in double figures, led by David Jenkins Jr. with 18 points off the bench. Marco Anthony chipped in 16 points and 8 rebounds. Both Gach added 15 points.
Kobe Brown led the Tigers with 27 points, including 23 in the second half.
Utah dropped their record to 7-4 on the season. They will finish non-conference play at home against Fresno State on Tuesday, December 21 at 5 p.m. MT on the Pac-12 Network.
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.
