LAS VEGAS8212;The Runnin’ Utes have made another huge step to achieving one of their goals.
Utah will now be playing in the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship for the first time in four years, after a 68-55 bashing of Wyoming.
“I was in the NBA for a long time and I consider this like a playoff situation,” said head coach Jim.
The Utes will meet up with a hot San Diego State team, which is coming off of a 64-62 thriller against BYU. The No. 5 seed upset UNLV and BYU to work their way into the final against Utah, where the teams split the season series against each other.
“I felt that San Diego State was one of the best teams in our league,” Boylen said. “I think it’s proven to be that.”
Wyoming was never really in the game, which has been the case for the Cowboys all season when they face the Utes. They would cut into the lead, make it interesting for a moment, then allow Utah to go on a run.
The biggest problem for Wyoming was its inability to stop center Luke Nevill. Nevill had 10 by the 14:06 mark in the first half. Although he only finished the first half with 11 points after Wyoming went to a zone, Nevill put 12 points up in the second half to finish the game with 23 points and 15 rebounds, his 13th double-double of the season.
“That’s our goal, is to throw the ball inside,” Nevill said. “I was open so I was making plays, making shots and when the ball gets thrown into me in one-on-one situations, I’m going to score most times.”
When Nevill wasn’t affective, in the first half, Carlon Brown took control. He missed his chance at a highlight dunk in the second but finished the game with 13 points and five rebounds.
The workhorse for the Utes all season has been Luka Drca and he was his normal self against Wyoming. He was all over the place, dishing to teammates, interrupting the passing lane all game and scoring. He finished with a season high eight assists to go along with nine points and three rebounds.
“It all starts with Drca, he had six of the 10 assists (in the first half). He creates” Boylen said.
The Cowboys couldn’t get much going in the second half. In the first half, they kept it close by making 10-of-12 shots from the charity stripe, but were unable to continue that trend in the second even though they found themselves in the bonus midway through the later half. Utah’s foul trouble forced Kim Tillie to foul out early in the second and Shaun Green was forced to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with more than eight minutes remaining, but Utah did let Wyoming take advantage.
The “Pokes were 20-for-26 from the line in the game, compare that to the Utes 11-for-14 effort, but Utah made up for that with its highest assist total of the season with 17.
“When I look at that stat sheet and I see 10 assists (in the first half), I get excited,” Boylen said.
The league’s leading scorer in Brandon Ewing finished his final conference game of his career with 13 points, four rebounds and a game high five turnovers. Sean Ogirri also had a big game for the Cowboys with 12 points and three rebounds, but that effort wasn’t enough as Utah’s guard line of Tyler Kepkay, Lawrence Bohra and Drca shadowed Wyoming’s top guard trio all night.