Shorthanded Utes Drop Midweek Match-Up on the Palouse

Wednesday, January 24

Pullman, WA

8:00 PM

University of Utah

14-6,5-4Pac-12

Washington State

14-6,5-4Pac-12

Utah

Washington St.

Photo by: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Shorthanded Utes Drop Midweek Match-Up on the Palouse

1/24/2024 10:52 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

A shorthanded Utah men’s basketball team dropped a 79-57 decision on Wednesday on the Palouse.

PULLMAN, Wash. – The Utah men's basketball team dropped a midweek match-up against Washington State inside Beasley Coliseum 79-57 with a shorthanded lineup.

Game opened up a little slow for both teams with Utah taking an early 8-7 lead thanks to a pair of triples from Branden Carlson at the first media break (15:48) before Washington State reeled off a 9-2 run to set the Runnin' Utes (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12) back 16-10 midway through (10:55).

Down 20-14 shortly out of the under-8 media break, Deivon Smith went down with a lower leg injury (6:23) and left an already thin back line for Utah a little thinner. However, Carlson would not let his team lose focus and scored the next eight points for Utah to keep it within 28-22 of WSU with 3:52 left in the half.

With the Cougars (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12) looking at their largest lead of the game (33-24) at that point, Utah reeled off a 6-0 spurt to close out the half and get within 33-30 at the break. Utah's quick run in the final 1:22 minutes of the half was fueled by its defense – which forced two turnovers on top a block to make it a one-possession game.

Gabe Madsen kept the Runnin' Utes within striking distance in the second half, scoring seven of Utah's 15 points by the under-12 media timeout (11:38) hit to trail 49-45.

After couple baskets in the paint from Hunter Erickson and Keba Keita brought Utah within 51-49 of Washington State, Isaiah Watts drained back-to-back triples to push WSU's lead back up to 57-49 and forced a Ute timeout with 10 minutes left to go.

An ill-timed shooting slump for an already shorthanded Utah roster saw the Cougs take advantage and go on a 9-2 run out of that timeout before a 3-pointer from Madsen at the 4:45 mark put an end to the drought to make it 66-54 in favor of the home team.

The Runnin' Utes couldn't keep the Cougars away from the offensive glass or the free throw line down the stretch and saw its deficit grow before the game went final.

Carlson finished with a game-high 20 points – 14 of which came in the first half. Madsen chipped in with 14 points and three assists while Keita added 10 points and 9 rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting.

BY THE NUMBERS
Branden Carlson picked up his 215th career block at the 13:06 mark … Utah was out-rebounded 40-29 – just the fourth time its lost the battle of the boards by double-digits this season … the Utes gave up 14 offensive boards – which led to 21 second-chance points for WSU … the 14 OREBs for Washington State accounted for 45.2-percent of its misses in the game … Utah also only shot 3-for-7 from the foul line to WSU's 16-for-24.

UP NEXT
The Utah men's basketball team will get an extra day to prepare for Washington before it heads to Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Ed Pavilion for a Saturday evening match-up against the Huskies. Dave Feldman and Corey Williams will have the call on ESPN2 as Utah closes out its final road trip to the Evergreen State.

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 Facebook, X and Instagram.

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