Utah Suffers Second Home Loss Of Season At Hands Of UCLA
Feb 20, 2020, 11:27 PM | Updated: Feb 23, 2020, 6:01 pm
Utah Utes guard Alfonso Plummer (25) attempts a 3-pointer during the game against the UCLA Bruins at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. (Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News)
(Ivy Ceballo, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah men’s basketball team couldn’t get past UCLA’s defense and the Utes couldn’t stop their offense. They lost their third straight game, 69-58 at the hands of the Bruins.
Utah lost just their second game this season inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The other defeat that the Utes have suffered at home was to Oregon on January 4.
Alfonso Plummer was the bright spot for the Utes, scoring 16 points in 17 minutes on the floor. He scored 14 points in the second half leading Utah’s rally late in the half after trailing by 20 points with 11 minutes remaining but their comeback came up short.
Final
UCLA 69 – Utah 58#GoUtes🏀🔴 pic.twitter.com/NTnpFSu3Mx
— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) February 21, 2020
UCLA Led Throughout
The Bruins had control of the game throughout. They never trailed in this game against the Utes and had their lead up to 20 points with 11 minutes remaining. UCLA has now won four straight and 8 of their last 10 games.
Jules Bernard led the team with 16 points, including 14 points coming in the first half of play. Tyger Campbell added 13 and 4 assists.
The Bruins have scored 10 of the first 13 points in the second half to increase their lead to a game-high 19!
UCLA 43, Utah 24 | 16:56, Second Half
📺 @FS1 #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ax3nql6z5M
— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) February 21, 2020
As a team, UCLA shot 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from the three-point line and went 15-19 from the free throw line.
Carlson Productive In Limited Minutes
Utah freshman center Branden Carlson has played very well in the last month. In the loss to UCLA, that wasn’t any different. He scored 8 of Utah’s first 13 points to start the game but went to the bench with two fouls with 9 minutes remaining in the opening half.
Once he went to the bench, Utah scored just six points and trailed UCLA by 12 points at the break. The Utes outscored the Bruins 37-36 in the second half.
Carlson finished with 10 points and one rebound on 4-5 shooting from the field.
Branden Carlson continues to impress. He has all 6 points for Utah early.#Utes #Pac12Hoops @kslsports
— Trevor Allen (@TrevorASports) February 21, 2020
Timmy Allen added 11 points and 7 rebounds on 4-8 shooting.
Utah dropped their record to 14-12 overall and 5-9 in Pac-12 play. They will finish their homestand on Sunday against the USC Trojans. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
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