The likelihood of Kim Tillie and Lawrence Borha being named to the Runnin’ Utes’ next 16-man All-Century team is next to none. For either of them to be named one of the top 16 players of the last decade is a long shot at best.
Still, the celebration at the Huntsman Center of 100 years of Runnin’ Ute basketball could have been soured by San Diego State if it weren’t for Tillie and Borha.
“I’m proud of my guys,” head coach Jim Boylen said. “Lawrence Borha was a man today, and I was proud of him.”
In the first half, it was Borha who came to the rescue.
After Utah spent the first 12-and-a-half minutes trying to dig out of an 11-0 hole, Borha brought his team all the way back by having a hand in eight of Utah’s points during a 10-0 run that put the Utes up 19-18.
Borha sparked the effort with a much needed 3-pointer to put the Utes within four. After SDSU’s Ryan Amoroso and Utah’s Carlon Brown traded close-range buckets, the former New York City scoring champ put Utah within one with his second of three 3-pointers on the night.
“I just tried to go out there and drive the ball,” Borha said. “They (were) leaving me open. It’s kind of, like, disrespecting me in a way, and I hit open shots.”
When the Aztecs started respecting Borha’s outside marksmanship, the junior made a concerted effort to get into the paint. On Utah’s next possession, Borha drove to the basket and found Luke Nevill for two points to put the Utes on top, 19-18, for the first time that afternoon.
Borha finished the half with 10 of his team-high 21 points, but his 11-point second-half effort was slightly overshadowed by Tillie’s momentum-changing performance.
However, Tillie’s second-half resurgence did not come without a little help from Boylen.
“I’ve mentioned this before about my size 13 up somebody’s ass,” Boylen said. “I put it up (Tillie’s) at halftime because I thought he was playing a little selfish. He was trying for his offense too much, trying to be the hero. I told him, ‘Either you’re going to dive on loose balls and you’re going to rebound or you’re not going to play.’ I give him credit for changing his mindset.”
Tillie responded.
With 10:24 left in the game, the sophomore managed to systematically change the complexion of the game.
With the score tied at 45, Tillie dove on the floor for a loose ball, which resulted in a steal for Borha. Then the sophomore grabbed a miss by teammate Luka Drca for one of his four offensive rebounds. His efforts led to a pair of free throws from Nevill that put Utah up 47-45.
After a missed dunk by Nevill, Tillie grabbed another offensive rebound to set the offense back up again. Later, Tillie grabbed a Drca miss and scored a put-back to give Utah a 49-48 lead. The native of Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, followed his offensive efforts up with an emphatic block, a defensive rebound and a steal on the next two San Diego State possessions. Following the steal, Tillie was sent to the line and buried both shots to put Utah up for good at 51-48.
“That’s what coach told me to do-do my job, do the effort plays, rebound, blocks, help,” Tillie said. “It worked out, and I tried to play as hard as I could and get the effort plays.”
With fewer than 30 seconds later, Tillie left to a standing ovation by the 14,653 in attendance.
“That’s really exciting, because usually the crowd only sees the people that scores the baskets and that’s it,” Tillie said. “Now I feel people see what I do. Even if I don’t score the baskets, people see what I do.”