Utah wrapped up nonconference play Monday night at a venue where it used to make annual visits when it played in the Pac-12.
While the Runnin’ Utes were able to make it a competitive contest against Washington, a cold second half offensively cost the visitors in a 74-65 loss at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.
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How the game transpired
Utah (8-5) fell behind 14-9 as Washington made six of its first eight shots, led by eight early points from leading scorer Hannes Steinbach.
The Utes fought back, getting their offense on track and going on a 7-0 run, with five of those points from Terrence Brown, to go up 34-29.
Washington trimmed that lead down before the Utes took a 37-36 lead into halftime.
A slow start to the second half — when the Utes scored just one point over the first four and a half minutes — put Utah in a 45-38 hole. The Utes missed their first five field goals of the second half.
That set the tone for them having to play from behind the rest of the night.
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Keanu Dawes trimmed it to a one-possession game with 3-pointer that made it 66-63 with 3:07 to play, but Washington quickly answered with a jumper, then forced a turnover on a jump ball on Utah’s next possession.
After another Huskies bucket, it was a seven-point game again.
That was enough to sink the Utes, even as they got within as close as five in the final minute and a half.
Washington shuts down Utah’s guards in the second half
The Utes are led offensively by their dynamic guard duo of Brown and Don McHenry.
In the first half, Brown scored 17 points while shooting 8 of 13 from the field, while McHenry added 8 points.
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In the second half, though, Brown and McHenry combined to go 0 of 10 from the field. McHenry was held scoreless after halftime while Brown scored 4 points, all from the free-throw line.
That was too much to overcome, as Utah went 9 of 30 in the second half, or 30%.
“It’s something we’ve been telling TB at Don, as the schedule goes on and we play better teams, especially when getting to conference, guys are going to really make a concerted effort to stop you from scoring,” Utah coach Alex Jensen said in his postgame interview on ESPN 700 AM.
“It’s a good lesson for us tonight, because it got harder in the second half and they were denying (Brown and McHenry). it’s just a feel of me and the coaches putting them in better situations and also they’ve got to be patient and just let it come to them.”
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Utah also played its third straight game without fellow guard Jacob Patrick, who’s out with an unspecified injury. That didn’t help matters.
Dawes ended up having a solid night, providing 12 second-half points and hitting a team-high three 3-pointers. He had 17 points and nine rebounds overall, though he also added four turnovers.
Franck Kepnang played a big role in disrupting the Utah offense, as he finished with six blocks and 10 rebounds (eight on the defensive end) to go with 4 points and two assists.
The energy was there, but inconsistencies bite Utes again
There are some positives to take away from Utah’s latest loss.
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The Utes, despite losing the height battle on an almost nightly basis, outrebounded the Huskies 36-32.
Utah also had 15 second-chance points to six for Washington while owning a 14-4 advantage on the offensive boards.
“The message we had for the last three or four days, since we got back from the break, was rebounding. We did a great job,” Jensen said.
“I think we held them to four offensive rebounds for the game and Steinbach himself averages five, so we did a did a great job there.”
Utah also had 12 bench points to none for Washington, as Kendyl Sanders provided six points and six rebounds for Utah.
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The Utes, though, were outshot 50.9% to 39.1% from the floor and tied their season-low with just nine assists.
That made their 3-point shooting edge — the Utes made seven to Washington’s three — a moot point.
Free throw shooting was costly, too, for Utah, and it was amplified in a game wherein the Utes were without striking distance in the game’s waning minutes.
Utah was 8 of 14 at the line, while Washington shot 17 of 20.
The Huskies were led by a trio of 20-point scorers. Steinbach had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Zoom Diallo added 24 points and seven assists and Desmond Claude put up 21 points and three assists.
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“It all goes back down to being able to guard the ball. We’re gonna have to guard bigger, stronger guys,” Jensen said. “… If we guard the ball and get a turnover, a rebound, then scoring happens.
“We’ve got to learn to score off of our defense, but that’s the one thing they do. They love to get in the paint.”
Washington (9-4) entered the night at No. 53 in the NET rankings, while the Utes were No. 138.
This was another chance for Utah to earn a win against a quality power conference opponent, but it again slipped out of the Utes’ hands.
Up next is Big 12 play … and a big challenge to start
Monday’s contest was Utah’s final one of the nonconference slate.
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The Utes will open up Big 12 play this weekend when they host No. 1 Arizona at the Huntsman Center on Saturday (2 p.m. MST, Peacock and NBC Sports Network).
The Wildcats are 13-0, with wins over UConn, Florida, Alabama and UCLA during nonconference play.
It will be easily the biggest challenge this season for Utah and quite the introduction to Big 12 play for Jensen, the first-year coach.
While the 6-foot-11 Steinbach was a matchup challenge for Utah against Washington, Arizona will be an even bigger headache in the paint for the Utes.
The Wildcats have plenty of length to counter with, a group led by 6-8 freshman Koa Peat, 7-2 Motiejus Krivas and 6-8 Tobe Akawa.
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“They’re big and strong, and it’s kind of a better version of what we saw tonight,” Jensen said of facing Arizona.
“Hopefully we can have the carryover on the boards and rebound like that, and then improve on a few other things.”
