Sluggish Start Leads to Loss in Seattle for Men's Basketball

Saturday, January 27

Seattle, WA

8:00 PM

University of Utah

14-7,5-5Pac-12

Washington

12-9,4-6Pac-12

Utah

Washington

Sluggish Start Leads to Loss in Seattle for Men's Basketball

1/27/2024 11:06 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Utah men’s basketball team dropped a 98-73 decision on the road to Washington on Saturday.

SEATTLE – Road woes continued for the Utah men's basketball team as it dropped a 98-73 decision Saturday evening inside Alaska Airlines Arena to the Washington Huskies.

Utah had a tough time finding its offense early on in the game, trailing 12-5 early after UW went on a quick 9-0 run before pushing that run to 22-5 – which forced a Utah timeout with 9:17 left in the half down 25-10.

After a Cole Bajema three-pointer, Deivon Smith scored eight-straight for the Runnin' Utes (14-7, 5-5 Pac-12) to spark a 10-2 spurt that cut Washington's lead down to 37-30 at the final media break thanks to a second-chance tip-in from Keba Keita. However, Washington closed the half against Utah with a 9-0 run to send the Utes into the locker room down 46-30 – the largest deficit at half this season.

Washington (12-9, 4-6 Pac-12) continued its offensive barrage in the second half and led by as many as 36 points (98-62) despite the Runnin' Utes shooting 54.8-percent in the final 20 minutes of the game. However, Washington shot just as well in the second half (.538) and 57.4-percent as team in the game – including a .458 clip from beyond the arc.

Smith led the Utes with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Ben Carlson finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting off the bench while Bajema chipped in with 10 points in his return to Seattle.

BY THE NUMBERS
Branden Carlson is now four blocks shy of breaking the school's all-time record after picking up a block tonight against the Huskies and pushed his total to 216 … Utah has now been swept by the Washington schools three times on the road since joining the league … the 25-point loss was Utah's largest margin of defeat against UW in the Pac-12 Era and seconds largest all-time against Huskies … with the loss, Utah has now lost nine-straight league games on the road dating back to last season.

UP NEXT
Utah returns home for a three-game homestand that will span two weeks beginning on Saturday, Feb. 3, against Colorado starting at 3 p.m. (MT) inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Guy Haberman will have the call between the Runnin' Utes and Buffs and will be joined by Earl Watson 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 Facebook, X and Instagram.

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