Tag: Utes

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah closed out the first half on a 6-0 run, built up an 8-point lead early in the second half, and then went on one of its now infamous long scoring droughts.

On Saturday, it was a 10-minute scoring drought that allowed Baylor to capitalize with a 22-3 run en route to a win.

Three nights later, it was much of the same as Utah went on a seven-minute scoring drought from the field in the second half that allowed Cincinnati to go on a 14-2 run that translated into a 6-point lead for the visitors.

But unlike Saturday’s result, Hunter Erickson drilled a corner 3-pointer to end the drought, and Utah went on a 14-2 run of their own that helped the home team pull away for good in a 69-66 win at the Huntsman Center.

And though Utah (12-8, 4-5 Big 12) led in almost every statistical category in the game for the duration, it was the team’s 19 turnovers that was the difference in the game that made it so close. Those double-digit mistakes translated to 21 points on the other end for the Bearcats, who kept the game within reach down to the final whistle.

“I think we had eight turnovers at halftime, which is too many, but we made it even worse in the second half,” Utah head coach Craig Smith said. “We’ve got to take care of the ball. I mean, 19 turnovers is too many. But the silver lining is we shoot 53% for the game; and if you do that, you should find your way to victory.

“I felt like our guys thought they were Magic Johnson and John Stockton out there; and guys, you’re not,” he added. “Like, just make simple plays, because when — we kept saying it timeouts — when we make simple plays and simple decisions, we’re scoring at 53%; we’re getting almost anything we wanted. You’ve gotta just be tougher with the ball.”

Gabe Madsen, who has been in an extended shooting slump from behind the arc, came up big down the stretch to finish with a team-high 18 points, including going 3-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final seconds, and four assists against his former team.

Though Madsen has struggled to connect on deep shots recently, he looked for different opportunities Tuesday night. Instead of settling for 3-point shots, the veteran guard worked to get better looks that included close jumpers to make a difference for his team. That return to basics, he said, translated to pivotal points in a tight game.

“It’s been weird,” Madsen said. “Obviously, I’ve never really been through something like this, so I don’t know. I’ve been talking my dad about just whenever I’d go through a little slump or whatever in high school, he’d just talk about going back to the basics, kind of just taking what the defense gives you and trying to find other ways to help the team out and whatnot.”

On Tuesday, Madsen found a way to take advantage of what the defense was giving him — closer-range shots.

On top of Madsen’s effort, Keanu Dawes made impact plays during Utah’s second-half run that proved to be the difference in a close game. He came off the bench to finish with 12 points and nine rebounds to help Utah to a 41-23 rebounding advantage over Cincinnati.

That rebounding advantage, alone, was a big point of emphasis for Utah, and a big contributing factor in Cincinnati not getting second-chance opportunities, especially late in the game.

“That’s huge. … If we play like this, we have a bunch of guys who can rebound really well,” Dawes said. “So whenever you can do something else extremely well, it kind of takes away from what you’re doing not so well at the time.”

The Bearcats (12-8, 2-7 Big 12) had two players finish the night in double-digit scoring, with Jizzle James leading the charge with 18 points on 2-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. Simas Lukosius contributed an additional 10 points for Cincinnati.

But on a night where Cincinnati clearly had the advantage in the turnover margin, it was the team’s 39% shooting from the field and 23 rebounds that sunk at chance at a comeback — even with the game within reach late.

“Our guys had good fight tonight and played with scrappiness; that part I was pleased with,” Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller said. “We had our chances in the second half and we couldn’t overcome it, so congrats to Utah.”

Late in the game, Cincinnati’s Day Day Thomas was ejected after a Flagrant 2 foul was called on him for pushing Mike Sharavjamts. Officials initially called a Flagrant 1 foul before upgrading it on review.

Utah returns to action Saturday (1 p.m. MST, ESPN+) on the road against an Oklahoma State team that Utah already beat a couple weeks ago and started a three-game win streak.