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Defense Down the Stretch Secures Win on the Farm for Runnin' Utes

by Utah Athletics
Feb 17, 2022

PALO ALTO, Calif. – A strong defensive effort down the stretch and timely 3-pointer from Gabe Madsen saw the Utah men's basketball team secure its first road win of the year on the Farm against Stanford, 60-56.
 
The game started off a bit slow with both teams shooting just 25-percent from the floor at the first media break (15:54) before Stanford went on an 8-0 run to lead 12-4. However, the Utes answered with a 9-0 run of their capped off by a nice turnaround from Lazar Stefanovic and forced a Cardinal time out (8:19).
 
Some back-and-forth saw the lead change hands five times before consecutive buckets from Branden Angel gave the hometown team a 21-17 edge. Rollie Worster finally broke the four-plus minute scoring drought for Utah (10-16, 3-13 Pac-12) after Marco Anthony was able to secure the offensive rebound to get the Utes within 25-19 with 59 ticks left in the half before heading into the locker room down 28-21.

 
With Utah down 35-32, a 3-point shooting contest ensued between both teams before the Cardinal took a 46-38 lead at the 11:47 mark after Maxime Raynaud was able to connect on his way to the basket for Stanford (15-11, 8-8 Pac-12).
 
The Runnin' Utes kept within striking distance of Stanford the whole second half and slowly inched closer as the game wore on, 51-45. Both Gach and Branden Carlson put the Runnin' Utes in position after scoring eight of the next nine points for Utah – including back-to-back lay-ins thanks to defensive efforts on the other end of the floor.

 
Out of the timeout after Carlson's bucket tied the game up at 54-54 with 2:46 remaining, Madsen drained a huge 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring put Utah ahead 57-54 before Both Gach knocked down the next two free throws. Utah's defense continued to clamp down on Stanford to seal the victory with a 12-2 run at the end to secure the 60-56 victory.

 
Gach and Carlson each finished with 13 points apiece while Worster and Madsen chipped in with 11 points each. Anthony finished with double-digit boards for the fourth-straight game with 12 for Utah while Lahat Thioune had six rebounds – five of which came on the offensive end.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Utah won the battle in the paint, outscoring the Card 26-22 … Stanford was held to just one field-goal in the final 9:28 of the game, a dunk with just 15 seconds remaining … Thursday's win was Utah's first win on the Farm since 2019.
 
QUOTABLE
HEAD COACH CRAIG SMITH
On what the first road win does for the confidence of the team…
"We've been knocking on the door the last three or four weeks, and we've been playing really good basketball. We just hadn't found a way to get over the hump. I'm not surprised (about the win); Stanford's a good team, but I'm not shocked. The guys have had a tremendous attitude, one that craves improvement. We show up every day to practice ready to go to work. When you keep knocking at the door, you're bound to break it open at some point."

UP NEXT
Utah drives north about 45 minutes to Berkeley, Calif., to play its final raod game of the regular-season at California on Saturday, Feb. 19, inside Haas Pavilion at 4 p.m. (MT) on Pac-12 Network. Ted Robinson will have the call between the Runnin' Utes and Golden Bears while Don MacLean serves as the analyst.
 
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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