Utah Basketball Collapses Late In Close Loss To Oregon State
Utah entered Wednesday night's contest with Oregon State sitting in eighth place in the conference standings. The Beavers were in sixth place, a game and a half ahead of the Utes — and sandwiched in between them was Arizona State, a game ahead of Utah.
With the Pac-12 tournament starting in one week, the jockeying for tournament seeding was sure to be exciting over the final week of the regular season — and the game between Utah and Oregon State lived up to that hype.
Unfortunately for the Utes, it was another golden opportunity that was squandered. Two turnovers in the final 30 seconds eventually led to a 75-70 defeat, and with it went Utah's hopes of securing the No. 6 seed in the conference tourney.
“I mean, the guys are down right now,” said Utah associate head coach Tommy Connor. He was filling in during the postgame Zoom session with reporters because head coach Larry Krystkowiak left right after tipoff in order to catch his son's state playoff game. “Obviously, we came off a big win and this was a game we thought we had at least a chance to win, and thought we could win.”
Utah had a chance to tie the game or take the lead in the final 30 seconds, but an errant pass by freshman guard Pelle Larsson resulted in the first turnover.
Trailing 72-70, Larsson used the screen set by Branden Carlson at the top of the three-point line to get into the paint. But rather than looking for his shot, the Utah freshman point guard he elected to pass to an open Carlson, who was waiting underneath the hoop.
Unfortunately the ball never reached Carlson as it was deflected by Oregon State's Warith Alatishe. Jarod Lucas recovered the ball and was fouled by Larsson with 23 seconds remaining, knocking down one-of-two and making in a three-point game.
“He was wide open. And I turned it over,” Larsson said. "More of a bad offensive play, rather than a stop, I would say. ... I just threw it into his hands. That’s on me.”
The Utes still had one more opportunity.
On the ensuing trip down the court, Utah star Timmy Allen drove the ball along the baseline before kicking it out to Carlson. But Oregon State's Ethan Thompson deflected the ball off Carlson as it bounced back across half court despite Alfonso Plummer's efforts to save it, resulting in the final turnover with 13 seconds left.
Lucas was fouled and knocked down two free throws with 11 seconds remaining, ending the comeback attempt.
Mar 3, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes guard Rylan Jones (15) cants save the backcourt violation in the final seconds of the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
The loss is particularly crushing as the Utes shot themselves in the foot at the end of the game.
Their last seven possessions over the final four minutes went like this; missed three-pointer, turnover, two made free throws, made three-pointer, turnover, turnover and missed jumper — not an ideal sequence for a team looking to take the next step forward.
“Obviously we had a couple blunders on the offensive end, did not take advantage (of getting the key stops),” Connor said. “We have a two-on-one and Fons fumbles the ball out of bounds. ... That was an important play. That should have been two points, right?”
Mar 3, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes guard Pelle Larsson (3) reacts to their loss against the Oregon State Beavers at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Allen was once again sensational for Utah, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor, adding in six assists and five rebounds. Plummer added 15 points on 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
With starting point guard Rylan Jones out with a shoulder injury, Larsson stepped into that role and played well. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. Carlson added 10 points, scoring in double figures for the 10th time in the past 13 games.
While the staters played extremely well, the Utes were ultimately done in by the play of their bench. Riley Battin, Lahat Thioune, Jaxon Brenchley and Ian Martinez combined for just three points (a Martinez three-pointer) in 37 minutes of action.
“Ian has been giving us a spark off the bench, and he didn’t quite get it going today, didn’t have a lot of opportunity,” Connor said. “Riley needs to make some shots. He missed a few of his open shots that we need him to knock down. So those guys in particular give us some offense off the bench, and neither were able to do that tonight.”
Mar 3, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Oregon State Beavers forward Maurice Calloo (1) and Utah Utes guard Ian Martinez (2) battle for position in the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
The game was a back and forth affair with neither team leading by more than four points until the midpoint of the second half. Oregon State then went on a mini run to take a seven point lead before Utah fought all back until the closing seconds.
Oregon State was led by Lucas and Alatishe who finished with 16 and 10 points respectively. But the Beavers bench was the real difference maker, finishing with 27 points, led by Gianni Hunt's team-high 17 points.
Utah will next face Arizona State in its season finale on Saturday, March 6. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. MT from the Jon M. Huntsman Center and will be televised by Fox Sports 1.
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