Runnin’ Utes head coach Jim Boylen said some Division II teams are good enough to play at the Division I level, which he found out the hard way Saturday with a 80-79 loss to the Southwest Baptist Bearcats.
The lead changed six times between the Utes and Bearcats in the second half. In the end, it was the Utes who succumbed to defeat after a failed attempt at a last-second shot by Ute guard Lawrence Bohra.
After trailing in the first 25 minutes of the game, the Utes took their first lead. It was back and forth from then on. The Utes gained a five-point lead twice in the half, but let it slip away by not defending the 3.
“Sixteen of their 27 made field goals were 3s,” Boylen said. “To me it’s a combination of 3 points they made and free throws they missed.”
The Utes went 27-of-38 from the line against the Bearcats. The Utes’ star center Luke Nevill picked up a double-double with 28 points (one shy of his career high) and 14 rebounds, and could have stolen the game if he hadn’t missed six free throws.
“Our foul shots killed us, me especially,” Nevill said. “I missed so many foul shots that I make all the time in practice but come game time I got to do the same thing.”
Missed foul shots might have cost the Utes the game against the Bearcats, but allowing them to make 16 3-point shots on 32 attempts was a big factor as well.
“In the scouting report, it was announced that they were really good shooters,” said Ute guard Luka Drca. “They don’t have their night making shots if we were better at defending the 3s.”
Percentage-wise, the Utes shot better from the field, at 44 percent, but allowed the Bearcats to get off 10 more shots, which worked out to be three more made buckets. The Utes made 24-of-54 shots, the Bearcats 27-of-64.
Once again, Tyler Kepkay and Shaun Green came off the bench for the Utes after three minutes in each half. Kepkay couldn’t match the 26-point effort he put up last week, but Green was productive with 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
“I come in and try to bring leadership and scoring off the bench,” Green said. “Tonight we did a good job for the most part, but we just didn’t get the stops we needed in the critical times.”
All but one of the Bearcats’ starters scored in double digits against the Utes. Tomas Brock led the way with 16 points, followed closely by D’Ante Harris and Brandon Clemons, who both had 15.
On the boards for the night, the Utes snatched 12 more rebounds than the Bearcats. They were plus-four on offensive rebounds, giving them another opportunity to take the lead with second-chance points. Southwest Baptist led in that category, 16 to 15.
The one area the Utes dominated in was points in the paint, in which they scored 40 to the Bearcats’ 25.
The Utes’ next game is Tuesday against UW-Green Bay at 7 p.m. in the Huntsman Center.
Erik DaenitzThe Utes credited part of their loss against Southwest Baptist to it?s teams players size and style of small ball.