The U men’s basketball team used 71.4 percent shooting from 3-point land to snap a two-game skid and score an 81-74 win over Pepperdine Saturday night.
Utah (3-2) bounced back from its first consecutive non conference losses since 1994, using defensive aggression, unselfishness and exceptional shooting from the opening tip.
“We came out flat against Utah State and Alabama,” said senior guard Travis Spivey, who dropped 10 assists in the contest. “Our goal was to come out and play a whole 40 minutes of Utah basketball.”
Utah started strong, opening a 15-7 lead on a Nick Jacobson trey. The three was one of five for Jacobson for the game. The sophomore scored a career-high 22 points on 7-13 shooting.
Still, Pepperdine pulled even at 25 after a layup by Mike Westphal, son of Pepperdine coach Paul Westphal.
A pair of Phil Cullen threes and a full-court pass from Chris Burgess to a streaking Jeff Johnsen for a left-handed finger roll extended the Utah lead to 44-31.
A lot of the Utes’ success came against the Waves’ zone. “You’ve got to know how to attack the zones?and know where to find the holes,” said Johnsen, who had 12 points and five assists after cracking into the starting lineup.
The Utes’ ball movement, either with the inside-out or with dribble penetration, led to 10-14 shooting from 3-point land.
“We made them play our tempo, which is working the shot clock,” said Chris Burgess, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Utah worked for its shots, and it paid off.
In the second half, two Jacobson treys made the score 54-38 Utah. But a Westphal three capped a 12-2 run to cut the lead to six with 14:10 left. Utah extended the lead to 11, but it was once again cut to four after a Jimmy Miggins layup.
Utah rebounded, going on an 11-1 run after a steal, layup and assist by Jeff Johnsen. The lead climbed to 18 at 80 62 after two Britton Johnsen free throws with 2:56 to go, but flashes of the Utes’ losses still showed.
Utah committed 4 of its 18 turnovers in the final 1:48, when Pepperdine applied full court pressure. The Waves finished the game on a 12-1 run, but ran out of time and lost 81-74.
In his return to the Huntsman Center, Waves guard (and former Ute) Gary Colbert collected 8 points, 2 assists and 2 steals. Colbert played for the U two years ago, but had his scholarship taken away by Majerus for academics. Colbert said he was let go because his free-wheeling style never fit into the Majerus system. Nevertheless, Colbert transferred to St. George to play for Dixie State Junior College before going to Pepperdine.
Next for Colbert and the 2-2 Waves is a home date with Long Beach State Dec. 4. Utah is in Phoenix the same day to play Arizona State.