Cougars falter in closing stretch against Utes

The Utah basketball team showed why it is the No. 13 team in the country - not because of what the Utes accomplished, but because they played one of their worst games of the season and still found a way to win.

The Utes shot just 40 percent from the floor and trailed for most of the second half, but came up clutch when they had to and pulled out the 67-59 victory over Washington State on Thursday night at Beasley Coliseum. WSU (12-17, 6-11 Pac-12) held the Utah to just 8-of-27 shooting in the first half and led by as much as 43-35 after DaVonte Lacy's 3-pointer with 12:09 to play, but it was not enough to keep Utah from recording its 23rd win of the season.

"I was a little bit of a pessimist on the bench at the end of the game. I said 'I'm not sure we deserved this one,' and I didn't feel great about it, but our assistants reminded me it's March," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "It's hard, things are a grind and your ability makes a difference to be able to close games out like that."

His team certainly did just that. The Utes climbed to within 48-45 on Jordan Loveridge's 3-pointer from the right wing and then tied it at 48 when Brandon Taylor sank another 3 with 6:23 to go. The game was tied at 50 with five minutes left when Taylor - who was 0-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half - hit another shot from the perimeter.

"They're the 13th-ranked team in the country for a reason. Good teams, you can slow them down but you can't stop them," Lacy said. "We did a good job of slowing them down the whole game but they made some huge shots. It wasn't anything but that. Huge shots and they were contested."

One of those back-breakers was Loveridge's basket with the shot clock winding down that brought Utah's lead to 55-52. Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate Delon Wright added four points to push the lead to seven, and even though WSU climbed to within 59-54, Taylor provided the dagger with one minute to go. He buried his third 3-pointer of the half - this one with three seconds left on the shot clock - to put the Cougars in a 64-52 hole. From there the Utes (23-6, 13-4) would use the clock as their friend to come away with the win.

The conclusion was a far cry from the opening half, when WSU seemed to follow its game plan to perfection. Facing a Utah squad that ranked ninth in the country in field goal percentage, the Cougars were able to slow down the pace and head into the break tied at 23.

"I wouldn't call it an ugly game because they sent three guys back to keep us from running. We sent three guys back to keep them from running, so it was a half court game," WSU coach Ernie Kent said. "... It became an ugly game because we were really good defensively and we didn't give them easy looks."

Jordan Railey led the Cougars with 12 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting, and even though he wasn't able to add to his point total in the second half, it was a solid outing for the senior.

"I don't think anything was different - they just couldn't help off of our great shooters," Railey said. "They were sticking with them so it pretty much gave me an open lane to play one-on-one in the post."

Kent admitted after the game he thought the crowd of just 2,690 people would provide more energy, and asked for people to show up for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. home finale against Colorado. That game tips off at 3:30 p.m.

No. 13 UTAH 67, WASHINGTON ST. 59

UTAH (23-6)

Taylor 3-9 2-2 11, Reyes 3-7 2-4 8, Loveridge 5-10 3-4 16, Poeltl 0-0 0-0 0, D. Wright 4-6 8-8 18, Chapman 0-2 0-0 0, I. Wright 1-3 1-2 4, Tucker 1-4 0-0 3, Bachynski 1-4 3-4 5, Kuzma 1-1 0-0 2, Olsen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 19-24 67.

WASHINGTON ST. (12-17)

Iroegbu 0-5 6-10 6, Railey 6-10 0-1 12, Kernich-Drew 2-7 0-0 6, Hawkinson 4-7 3-4 11, Lacy 5-13 3-3 16, Redding 0-0 0-0 0, Longrus 3-4 0-0 6, Johnson 0-3 2-2 2, Boese 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 14-20 59. Halftime-Tied 23-23. 3-Point Goals-Utah 10-22 (Loveridge 3-4, Taylor 3-9, D. Wright 2-3, I. Wright 1-2, Tucker 1-3, Chapman 0-1), Washington St. 5-16 (Lacy 3-8, Kernich-Drew 2-4, Johnson 0-1, Iroegbu 0-3). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Utah 37 (D. Wright 8), Washington St. 26 (Hawkinson 9). Assists-Utah 13 (D. Wright 8), Washington St. 11 (Iroegbu 7). Total Fouls-Utah 16, Washington St. 17. A-2,690.

Tom Hager can be reached at (208) 883-4633 or by email to thager@dnews.com.