Utah Suffers Heartbreaking Loss Despite Plummer’s Record Performance
Mar 11, 2020, 3:41 PM
Utah Utes guard Alfonso Plummer (25) shoots a three pointer during the first round game of the men's Pac-12 Tournament between the Oregon State Beavers and the Utah Utes on March 11, 2020, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Utah men’s basketball team lost their Pac-12 Tournament matchup with Oregon State on a last second three-pointer, 71-69 despite a record performance from Alfonso Plummer.
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Beavers guard Jarod Lucas nailed a three-pointer with one second left on the clock to put the Oregon State ahead by two points and eliminated the Utes.
Utah junior college transfer guard Alfonso Plummer had a record performance with 11 three-pointers, which set a single game school record, a Pac-12 Tournament record and a Pac-12 single game record.
Plummer finished with 35 points on 12-17 shooting from the field and 11-16 from beyond the arc. He matched his previous career-high 23 points in the first half.
Tres Tinkle led the Beavers with 19 points. Oregon State finished the game on a 6-0 run.
Turnovers Hurt Utah
The Utes turned the ball over 7 times in the first 8 minutes of the game. At the end of the first half, Utah gave up the ball 10 times. They took care of the ball slightly better in the second half with 7 turnovers.
The problem with 17 turnovers throughout the game was that Oregon State scored 24 points off of those turnovers.
Oregon State had just 10 turnovers with Utah scoring 10 points off of those miscues.
What. A. Finish. @BeaverMBB's Jarod Lucas drains the game-winning three in the closing seconds to give the Beavers a 71-69 victory over @UtahMBB
Oregon State moves on to take on top-seeded @OregonMBB tomorrow at 12 p.m. PT / 1 p.m. MT#Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/FfXx9MKpHi
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) March 11, 2020
Timmy Allen dropped 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Branden Carlson and Riley Battin each added 7 points.
Rylan Jones did not play after suffering a concussion against California two weeks ago.
Team Should Be Really Good Next Season
Despite the many losses and disappointing performances this season from the Utes, they will come back in 2020-21 and could potentially be an NCAA Tournament team. This season, Utah was the third youngest team in the entire country.
Utah played many freshmen this season and their leaders were sophomores. They also found a great scorer in Alfonso Plummer who will certainly get more playing time next season.
Rylan Jones made a big impact on this team and will be a huge part of Utah’s future in the next three years. Jaxon Brenchley and Branden Carlson each showed signs of brilliance through the season and have bright futures with the Utes.
REMEMBER THE NAME!!! 🎯ALFONSO PLUMMER!🎯
📺@Pac12Network#GoUtes🏀🔴 #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/8FiH4kYKyf
— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) March 11, 2020
Mikael Jantunen is a player that will fill up the stat sheet and has shown the Utes that he can be a gritty and physical player.
The future is bright for the Runnin’ Utes.
Utah finished their season with a 16-15 record. It is unknown if they will play in the NIT but it is unlikely.
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