SALT LAKE CITY – A late rally by the Utah men's basketball team in the second half was not enough as it fell just short Wednesday night in its battle with #20 TCU inside Vivint Arena.
On a night where turnovers plagued Utah (9-4, 2-0 Pac-12), the Runnin' Utes showed fight 'til the end and got within two possession of the Horned Frogs but time just wasn't on their side. The Utes tied things up in the second half twice, once at 46-46 (12:46) and then again at 52-52 (9:42) before TCU (10-1) went on an 8-2 run. The Horned Frogs never looked back after that despite the Runnin' Utes cutting it within four points twice with 27 seconds left to go.
That second-half rally was thanks to
Gabe Madsen, who scored 16 of his career-high 26 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range while
Branden Carlson scored 11 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes of action.
The first half saw a lot of back-and-forth with neither team taking full advantage until the Horned Frogs went ahead 33-23 with 6:54 remaining. However, the Utes battled back to get within 35-29 of TCU heading into the break thanks to Madsen's three-pointer.
With 1:12 left in the game, Carlson took sole possession of the No. 4 spot on the all-time blocks list with the 156th denial of his career. The South Jordan native tied Jason Washburn (2009-13, 155) for fourth all-time with time expiring in the first frame after sending Mike Miles' shot back.
Madsen finished with a game-high 26 points on7-of-15 shooting from 3-point range – a new single-game high for the junior. Carlson was just short of a double-double, recording 14 points with eight rebounds and three assists on 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
Marco Anthony finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
Utah is 5-10 vs. ranked non-conference opponents in the Pac-12 era … TCU took advantage of the paint, outscoring the Utes 46-28 … Utah was able to convert 11 offensive boards into 19 points … Utah is now 9-2 when outrebounding its opponents.
UP NEXT
The Runnin' Utes will get some days off to spend time with family before gearing up for its full slate of Pac-12 games with its road swing to the Bay Area. Utah first opens up against the Cal Bears on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m. (MT) before squaring off against the Stanford Cardinal on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m. (MT). Both games are set to air on Pac-12 Networks.
For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at
www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on
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