LAS VEGAS?If No. 8 seed Air Force’s overtime loss to No. 1 Wyoming didn’t speak of the strength of the Mountain West Conference, the Colorado State-Utah matchup hours later reiterated the point.
As was the case against Colorado State in Salt Lake City, missed free throws and mental errors down the stretch kept the game just a roll off the rim away from going into overtime.
As it played out, No. 2 seed Utah (21-7) ended the season of the scrappy Rams (12-18) by a final 69-66 tally Thursday night at the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas.
“It’s something we’ve struggled with all year?missing free throws and making dumb fouls down the stretch,” said senior forward Jeff Johnsen, who turned in a career-high effort of 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting.
“We made fouls we shouldn’t have made,” said coach Rick Majerus, before burying his head into his hand during the post-game press conference.
Although the play on the floor was physical, Majerus said, “We’ve got to control our emotions.”
The emotion was evident from the opening tip. The Rams’ physical, in-your face defense ran them to a 10-5 lead, 6 coming from forward Brian Greene. Greene scored 29 against Utah in Salt Lake City, but the U held him to 13 for the game Thursday.
Utah knotted the score at 12-12 minutes later. Travis Spivey collected a steal, and he and Britton Johnsen led a 2-on 1 U break-away. Spivey threw the alley-oop to Johnsen, who slammed it in the face of Ram forward Matt Williams.
The 9-2 spurt was capped by a pair of Phil Cullen free throws, as Utah led 14-12 with 10:52 remaining.
However, Cullen’s soft touch from the free throw line went south behind the arc. Cullen missed three straight 3s and ended the game 0-for-7, including 0-for-5 from 3-point land. Only three Jeff Johnsen free throws kept the Utes within striking distance, down 24-17 with 4:58 to go.
A pair of Nick Jacobson 3s put the Utes down three, and another dunk by Britton pulled the U to within one. This time, Johnsen took Ram center Matt Nelson baseline before throwing it down and drawing the foul from Williams yet again.
Just before the half, the Utes regained the lead on a goaltend. Britton found brother Jeff on a backdoor cut, and Utah led 30-29 at the break.
But CSU would not go away. The Rams gained a 37-33 lead, but Cullen’s halfcourt fastball to Jeff Johnsen for a layup tied the game at 37-37.
And just when it seemed the Utes were running away, the Rams caught a break.
Freshman Martin Osimani hit a 3 and Jeff Johnsen’s putback after a Jacobson miss gave the Utes a five-point lead. But a technical foul on Jacobson and the two subsequent Andy Birley free throws cut the lead to three.
It didn’t matter. Another 3 by Osimani and one by Jeff Johnsen extended Utah’s lead to 48-41. The lead grew to nine minutes later at 61-52.
“There were times when we could’ve folded but we kept scrapping and battling,” CSU coach Dale Layer said.
Riding the free throw shooting of freshman Nelson, CSU cut the lead to 62-62 with 1:58 in the game.
“Nelson looked like the best young guy in this league for a few years,” Majerus said. Nelson finished with a game high 25 points, including 13 for-16 from the foul line.
More devastating for the U, Brit Johnsen had fouled Nelson?Britton’s fifth.
Majerus inserted 7-footer Cameron Koford, who got a pass from Spivey for a dunk to move the U lead to four.
Birley responded with a 3, but Jeff Johnsen sank two free throws to make it 66-63 with 54.0 seconds left.
CSU missed a shot attempt, and Spivey made only 2-4 free throws. A trey by Jon Rakiecki cut the U lead to 68-66. Jeff Johnsen made only 1-of-2 free throw tries, and CSU had a chance with 4.3 seconds left.
Birley ran the length of the court and casted a trey from five feet behind the 3-point line. The attempt came up just short and shot off the backboard and rim. Utah walked away 69-66 winners.
For the Rams, it was an all too-soon ending to a frustrating season of injuries, suspensions and a team full of young players.
“It’s an abrupt ending for many teams, but that’s how it is,” Layer said.
On the other hand, Utah still has life. The Utes advance to the semifinal round of the MWC Tournament.
But with the Utes a game away from an NCAA Tournament berth, the concern remains.
“Hopefully we can start finishing games strong,” Jeff said.