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Runnin' Utes Can't Contain Hot-Shooting Ducks

by Utah Athletics
Jan 1, 2022

EUGENE, Ore. – The Utah men's basketball team ran into a hot-shooting Oregon Ducks team Saturday evening inside Matthew Knight Arena and fell 79-66.
 
The Utes got off to a good start and took a 12-6 lead at the 11:49 mark after a nice up-fake from Riley Battin led to wide-open bucket. After an exchange of baskets between the two squads, Oregon went on a 12-0 run before Marco Anthony ended the drought for Utah with a 3-pointer from the far corner to bring the Utes within 20-17.
 
Another jumper from Anthony out of the media break followed by a pull-up from Branden Carlson saw the Utes (8-6, 1-3 Pac-12) go up 21-20 before Rollie Worster drained a triple from the near corner to make it 24-22 in favor of the road team heading in the under-4 timeout.
 
The Utes finished the remaining 3:49 minutes of the half with a 13-5 run that was capped off by a half-court shot from Carlson to give the junior a team-high nine points at the break. Thanks to Carlson's heave, Utah was able to take a 35-29 lead after 20 minutes of action and was able to convert eight offensive boards into a 9-0 edge in second-chance points.

 
Oregon opened the second stanza with fire in the bellies and erupted for a 16-7 run that forced head coach Craig Smith to call a timeout with 15:02 on the clock down 45-42. The Utes weathered the storm and kept within a possession of the Ducks (8-6, 1-2 Pac-12), trailing just 52-49 at the 11:35 mark thanks to a huge 3-pointer from Lazar Stefanovic that started with an offensive board from Carlson.

 
Oregon's Will Richardson kept the Ducks on pace against the Utah offense, scoring each time for the Ducks on the offensive end with nine-straight points by himself to put the home team on top 65-57 with 6:01 left in the game.
 
Utah never wavered and battled to the bitter end, but the Utes just met a Ducks team that shot a white-hot .643 clip in the second half and .556 overall in the game.
 
Carlson led the Utes on Saturday with 15 points and six boards while Anthony posted 14 points with eight rebounds. Stefanovic wrapped up the list of double-digit scorers for Utah with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Utah once again won the battle of the boards 34-31 but lost the points in the paint battle 36-24 for the second-straight game … the Utes move to 10-27 all-time against Oregon and just 2-20 in Eugene … Utah was able to turn 10 offensive boards into a 14-3 edge in second-chance points … the Utes have now been swept on the Oregon swing three-straight season and seven times overall.
 
UP NEXT
Utah returns home to the friendly confines of the Jon M. Huntsman Center as it welcomes in Washington (Jan. 6) and Washington State (Jan. 8) this upcoming week. Both games are scheduled to air on Pac-12 Networks with the contest against the Huskies set for 7:30 p.m. (MT) and the battle versus the Cougars set for 4 p.m.
 
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.
 
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