Skip to main content

Runnin' Utes Can't Overcome Miscues in Loss to Beavers

Dec 30, 2021
Courtesy: Oregon State Athletics

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Despite a handful of opportunities thanks to its 3-point shooting, the Utah men's basketball team couldn't overcome a season-high tying 20 turnovers in its 88-74 loss to Oregon State Thursday night inside Gill Coliseum.
 
The opening minutes of the first half saw a lot of action between the Utes and Beavers with Utah hitting five of its first six field-goals from 3-point range between four different players. However, an 8-0 run by the Beavers saw Utah head into under-12 media break down 24-19 after Lahat Thioune knocked both free throws out of the timeout.
 
After a 6-0 run by Utah (8-5, 1-2 Pac-12) capped off by a lay-in from Branden Carlson to get within 24-23 of the Beavers, Oregon State answered with a 12-2 run and went into the 2:48 media break on top 43-29. During that stretch, the Utes went without a field-goal for over four minutes and committed several turnovers – many unforced that led to a 14-2 edge for the Beavers (3-10, 1-2 Pac-12) in points off turnovers.
 
On Utah's first possession out of the under-4 media timeout, David Jenkins Jr. drew the foul and connected on a 3-pointer from the far side to complete the four-point play - which brought the Utes within 43-33. However, Oregon State's hot shooting continued and sent Utah into the locker room down 47-38.
 
Utah started the second frame firing on all cylinders and opened with a 13-5 run to get within 52-51 of Oregon State after four-straight baskets between Both Gach and Carlson at the 15:58 media timeout. But the experienced OSU team answered right back with a 9-2 run of its own and pushed its lead back up to 61-53 in a hurry. However, a nice kiss off the glass from Rollie Worster followed by the fifth triple from Jenkins Jr. made it a one-possession once again for Utah (63-60) with 11 minutes left to play.
 
The offense did its best to keep Utah within striking distance with 1:17 remaining on the clock after Jenkins Jr. hit all three free throws. However, the Utes went 0-for-4 the rest of the way in the loss.
 
Jenkins Jr. led the team with 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three and 7-of-9 from the line off the bench. Meanwhile, Marco Anthony added 10 points on six rebounds with five assists. In his first game back, Carlson scored nine points to go with nine rebounds while Gach chipped in with nine points and five assists.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Riley Battin played in his 100th career game as a Ute Thursday night against Oregon State ... Thursday's loss was the first time Utah failed to secure the win when winning the battle of the boards (37-32), it was previously 5-0 … Utah is now just 3-14 on the road against and 19-18 all-time against OSU … Utah's 20 turnovers led to a 23-8 point disparity in favor of OSU … despite winning the battle of the boards, Utah was outscored in the paint 40-24.
 
UP NEXT
The Utes continue their swing in the PNW and now heads south to take on the Oregon Ducks Saturday, Jan. 1, to ring in the New Year. Jordan Kent will have the call inside Matthew Knight Arena while Eldridge Recasner serves as the analyst on the Pac-12 Networks broadcast.
 
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, Twitter and Instagram.
 
###