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Men's Basketball
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Sunday, February 23
Salt Lake City, UT
4:00 PM
University of Utah
15-12,6-9Pac-12
79
vs
65
USC
19-9,8-7Pac-12
1
2
F
Southern California
28
37
65
Utah
34
45
79
Photo by: Alina Rogers
Men's Basketball Shoots Past USC Behind Career-High From Plummer
2/23/2020 7:47 PM | Men's Basketball
The Utah men’s basketball team found its mojo Sunday afternoon in the 79-65 win over USC.
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah men's basketball team found its groove and hopes that it stays for good as the Utes defeated USC 79-65 Sunday evening in the Jon M. Huntsman Center behind a career-high tying 18 points from Alfonso Plummer.
The win pushes Utah's all-time record against the Trojans to 25-20 and 14-6 when playing at home – including a 9-3 mark inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Utah (15-12, 6-9 Pac-12) had a great start to the game, taking an early 9-3 lead into the first media break (15:54) and then a 7-3 run forced USC head coach Andy Enfield to call a timeout at the 12:54 mark. Four turnovers by the Utes coupled with a scoring drought saw the Trojans reel off a 13-4 run of their own before Both Gach's lay-in with 7:04 on the clock ended the 5:59 drought between field goals and regained the lead for Utah, 20-19.
A stretch of back-and-forth basketball ensued before three-straight free throws from Plummer and a pair of triples from Jaxon Brenchley and Rylan Jones gave the Utes a 34-28 edge at the half. Utah also converted 10 Trojan (19-9, 8-7 Pac-12) turnovers into 14 points while only turning the ball over six times.
Timmy Allen got the second half started after Gach stole the ball from USC's Onyeka Okongwu and lobbed it Allen for the thunderous alley-oop jam. An 8-2 run in favor of the Utes ensued after that and forced another USC timeout just 3:39 into the second frame.
Utah took its then-largest lead of the game, 45-30, shortly after the timeout before exchanging baskets with the Trojans. However, that didn't last long as it turned into a 12-3 run for USC and cut the Utah lead down to 55-51 – which forced the Utes to call a timeout to regroup with 9:23 left to play.
USC did its best to claw back, bringing the Utah lead down to 67-62 with 3:10 left to go on a 3-pointer from Elijah Weaver. However, Plummer continued to do what he does best and drained his fifth trey of the evening before Allen and Gach put the game away for good at the foul line.
Mikael Jantunen was efficient in the second half for Utah, scoring 11 of his 13 points and 5-of-5 from the field during the final 20 minutes of action. Meanwhile, Allen poured in 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second frame before finishing with his sixth double-double of the season on 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Branden Carlson had a great game in just 24:52 minutes of action, scoring 11 points with eight rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting to round out the list of double-digit scorers. Plummer, who tied his career-high of 18 points set back on Dec. 7 against Central Arkansas, went 5-of-8 from 3-point range Sunday.
BY THE NUMBERS
The 19 assists tonight was the third-highest total this season and tied the 19 dimes against Washington State (Jan. 25) at home … Utah converted 15 USC turnovers into a 25-7 edge in points off turnovers … the Utes also had 10 steals on the evening and back-to-back games with double-digit steals – including four the last six games … coincidentally, the last time Utah had four players in double-figures was at USC back on Jan. 30 … the last time Utah hit 10 triples in a game was at Arizona on Jan. 16 … Utah is now 11-2 at home this season with one more game remaining inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center … the five 3-pointers from Plummer ties his career-high.
QUOTEABLE
Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak
Coach K on Alfonso and Mickey playing great minutes during today's game…
"I thought Fons had a terrific weekend. When you look at his numbers, he's playing with a lot of confidence and you've been watching us recently we've been having a hard time putting the ball in the basket so those three's add up really fast and he's not afraid to shoot them. I think we have a few guys that are a little bit hesitant right now so that was great, his effort was there and Mickey's always going to bring effort to the game. Both of the games were a little gritty when you get those big bodies out there and we needed some of that size and the energy was key I thought."
Coach K on Rylan doing some dirty work taking charges throughout the game…
"He took three charges tonight and that's just a warrior play. Jeff Van Gundy was reading something about it in a book earlier this afternoon and it talks about players being so enamored with the flash, dazzle, style points, the dunking and all of that. But, it's such a valuable asset when you've got somebody who's willing to give his body up. I've always said that I think a charge is the best play in basketball. It's a momentum play, it's obviously a foul and you only get five of them, and you get the ball. He's been doing it for a lot of years and you are never going to ask him to not do it because he's really good at it. I love it and it's an integral part of our defense. Not just some of those charges that he gets but it's also something that's on the opposing scouting report. You can't just go in there and I think that takes a little bit of the vigor out of the opposition knowing that, even if it's a non-contact play, at least they're aware of it and he does a really good job with his instincts."
Junior Guard #25 Alfonso Plummer
On the team's mindset when Rylan went down with three minutes left and still a close game?
"I don't know because he's got a strong heart. He always fights it. Doesn't matter if he got injured in the beginning or middle of the game. He always tries to bounce back and help the team so; we just believe he is going to stand up and keep playing because he is a warrior. I don't know his status but I hope he gets better soon."
UP NEXT
The Utes hit the road for the final time in the regular-season this upcoming week as it heads to the Bay Area for a pair of games against Stanford (Feb. 26) and California (Feb. 29) on a rare Leap Day contest. Both games will air on Pac-12 Network with the Utes and Cardinal tipping off at 8 p.m. (MT) and at 4 p.m. (MT) against the Golden Bears.
The win pushes Utah's all-time record against the Trojans to 25-20 and 14-6 when playing at home – including a 9-3 mark inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Utah (15-12, 6-9 Pac-12) had a great start to the game, taking an early 9-3 lead into the first media break (15:54) and then a 7-3 run forced USC head coach Andy Enfield to call a timeout at the 12:54 mark. Four turnovers by the Utes coupled with a scoring drought saw the Trojans reel off a 13-4 run of their own before Both Gach's lay-in with 7:04 on the clock ended the 5:59 drought between field goals and regained the lead for Utah, 20-19.
A stretch of back-and-forth basketball ensued before three-straight free throws from Plummer and a pair of triples from Jaxon Brenchley and Rylan Jones gave the Utes a 34-28 edge at the half. Utah also converted 10 Trojan (19-9, 8-7 Pac-12) turnovers into 14 points while only turning the ball over six times.
Timmy Allen got the second half started after Gach stole the ball from USC's Onyeka Okongwu and lobbed it Allen for the thunderous alley-oop jam. An 8-2 run in favor of the Utes ensued after that and forced another USC timeout just 3:39 into the second frame.
Utah took its then-largest lead of the game, 45-30, shortly after the timeout before exchanging baskets with the Trojans. However, that didn't last long as it turned into a 12-3 run for USC and cut the Utah lead down to 55-51 – which forced the Utes to call a timeout to regroup with 9:23 left to play.
USC did its best to claw back, bringing the Utah lead down to 67-62 with 3:10 left to go on a 3-pointer from Elijah Weaver. However, Plummer continued to do what he does best and drained his fifth trey of the evening before Allen and Gach put the game away for good at the foul line.
?????????? = @AlfonsoPlummer9
— Utah Basketball?? (@UtahMBB) February 24, 2020
18 points ties his career-high set vs. Central Arkansas (12/7/19)
?? 70 | ?? 62#GoUtes???? #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/eWUOf2exxC
Mikael Jantunen was efficient in the second half for Utah, scoring 11 of his 13 points and 5-of-5 from the field during the final 20 minutes of action. Meanwhile, Allen poured in 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second frame before finishing with his sixth double-double of the season on 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Branden Carlson had a great game in just 24:52 minutes of action, scoring 11 points with eight rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting to round out the list of double-digit scorers. Plummer, who tied his career-high of 18 points set back on Dec. 7 against Central Arkansas, went 5-of-8 from 3-point range Sunday.
?? Undefeated Sunday ??@UtahMBB @UtahGymnastics @UTAHWBB @utahskiteam @UteWomensTennis @utahbaseball #goutes #LightTheU pic.twitter.com/DqCo05vQtd
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) February 24, 2020
BY THE NUMBERS
The 19 assists tonight was the third-highest total this season and tied the 19 dimes against Washington State (Jan. 25) at home … Utah converted 15 USC turnovers into a 25-7 edge in points off turnovers … the Utes also had 10 steals on the evening and back-to-back games with double-digit steals – including four the last six games … coincidentally, the last time Utah had four players in double-figures was at USC back on Jan. 30 … the last time Utah hit 10 triples in a game was at Arizona on Jan. 16 … Utah is now 11-2 at home this season with one more game remaining inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center … the five 3-pointers from Plummer ties his career-high.
QUOTEABLE
Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak
Coach K on Alfonso and Mickey playing great minutes during today's game…
"I thought Fons had a terrific weekend. When you look at his numbers, he's playing with a lot of confidence and you've been watching us recently we've been having a hard time putting the ball in the basket so those three's add up really fast and he's not afraid to shoot them. I think we have a few guys that are a little bit hesitant right now so that was great, his effort was there and Mickey's always going to bring effort to the game. Both of the games were a little gritty when you get those big bodies out there and we needed some of that size and the energy was key I thought."
Coach K on Rylan doing some dirty work taking charges throughout the game…
"He took three charges tonight and that's just a warrior play. Jeff Van Gundy was reading something about it in a book earlier this afternoon and it talks about players being so enamored with the flash, dazzle, style points, the dunking and all of that. But, it's such a valuable asset when you've got somebody who's willing to give his body up. I've always said that I think a charge is the best play in basketball. It's a momentum play, it's obviously a foul and you only get five of them, and you get the ball. He's been doing it for a lot of years and you are never going to ask him to not do it because he's really good at it. I love it and it's an integral part of our defense. Not just some of those charges that he gets but it's also something that's on the opposing scouting report. You can't just go in there and I think that takes a little bit of the vigor out of the opposition knowing that, even if it's a non-contact play, at least they're aware of it and he does a really good job with his instincts."
Junior Guard #25 Alfonso Plummer
On the team's mindset when Rylan went down with three minutes left and still a close game?
"I don't know because he's got a strong heart. He always fights it. Doesn't matter if he got injured in the beginning or middle of the game. He always tries to bounce back and help the team so; we just believe he is going to stand up and keep playing because he is a warrior. I don't know his status but I hope he gets better soon."
UP NEXT
The Utes hit the road for the final time in the regular-season this upcoming week as it heads to the Bay Area for a pair of games against Stanford (Feb. 26) and California (Feb. 29) on a rare Leap Day contest. Both games will air on Pac-12 Network with the Utes and Cardinal tipping off at 8 p.m. (MT) and at 4 p.m. (MT) against the Golden Bears.
###
Team Stats
USC
Utah
FG%
.433
.482
3FG%
.304
.476
FT%
.375
.625
RB
37
41
TO
15
11
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
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