SEATTLE – The Utah Runnin' Utes registered a second-half 70 percent effort to erase an early 10-point deficit and came back to down the Washington Huskies, 70-58, Thursday evening at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Huskies (17-9, 7-6) pushed its eight-point halftime lead to 10 points early in the second half, but the Utes (16-9, 8-6) countered with a 21-4 run and never looked back on the way to its 12-point victory. With the win, Utah pushed its winning streak to six straight games against the Huskies, while registering a season-sweep over UW for the third straight season.
Both teams traded points for the majority of the first period until back-to-back three-pointers from
Parker Van Dyke and
Sedrick Barefield gave the Utes a three-point lead at 23-20. It would prove to be Utah's final field goal of the period, coming at the 5:38 mark, and Washington countered with a 12-1 run down the stretch to take a 32-24 lead into halftime.
Utah shot just 27.3 percent in the half, which included going just 3-of-16 from beyond the three-point arc. UW was 4-of-9 from deep and finished the half with a 47.6 percent effort overall.
David Collette,
Tyler Rawson and Barefield led the Utes at the break with six points each, while UW's David Crisp led all players through the first 20 minutes of play with seven points.
The Huskies pushed its lead to 34-24 after opening the second half with a bucket, but Collette poured in a lay-up at the other end and Utah proceeded to go on its 21-4 run. The Utes would end up outscoring the Huskies 46-26 in the second half to erase the eight-point halftime deficit.
Collette finished with 22 points – just two points off his season/career-high of 24 points. Rawson added 15 points, while the three other starters (Barefield, Van Dyke and
Justin Bibbins) all chipped in with 10 points each. It marked the first time this season that all five starters scored in double figures in the same game.
Utah outrebounded the Huskies 36-26 and scored seven second-chance points to UW's total of three points. The second half 70 percent effort was Utah's highest in a half this season, surpassing the 63 percent effort the Utes recorded in the first half against Eastern Washington.
The Utes will close out its two-game road swing through Washington, taking on the Washington State Cougars this Sunday in Pullman. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. PT at Beasley Coliseum.