The Runnin’ Utes were able to hang with the Idaho Vandals for most of the night, but in the end, Idaho’s experience was the difference, as Utah lost its season opener Friday 94-87.
The Utes put together several runs in the second half to close the gap and even took the lead, but the Vandals were able to answer with big baskets from their veteran leaders every time.
“A veteran team should make the big plays,” said head coach Jim Boylen. “They did, and you’ve got to give them credit for that.” Both teams struggled offensively to start the game, but the Vandals eventually found their offensive rhythm behind the play of junior guard Jeff Ledbetter and senior guard Mac Hopson and took control with a 10-point lead with four minutes remaining in the first half.
Utah was without its veteran leaders8212;junior Carlon Brown and senior Kim Tillie8212;for much of the first half, as both players got into foul trouble early on and were unable to get into any sort of rhythm for the Utes. First-half frustrations were part of an overall tough night for Brown, who finished with 12 points and four rebounds but also committed six of Utah’s 14 turnovers.
“It was tough,” he said. “I felt like I couldn’t play up on defense, I couldn’t drive hard8212;it definitely affected me.”
The Utes still managed to trim the deficit and grab some momentum going into halftime with some sharpshooting and tough defense. After the Ute defense forced several Idaho turnovers, junior Matt Read capped off the effort by hitting a 3-pointer with six seconds left, cutting the Vandal lead to six at 47-41.
The teams started the second half trading baskets, until Marshall Henderson and Jason Washburn sparked a run and Utah was able get the Vandals’ lead down to one point. A Washburn dunk with 16 minutes and 20 seconds remaining put the game at 54-53, but the Utes were assessed a technical foul the next time-out, and the Vandals rebuilt a six-point lead.
Henderson and Washburn powered the Ute offense on the night, scoring 18 and 20 points, respectively.
The Utes took their only lead of the second half with just more than 11 minutes remaining, after a Tillie trey put Utah up one at 66-65. Idaho immediately went on a 10-0 run, sparked two 3s and a layup by Ledbetter, and just more than 90 seconds later, the Vandals led big again at 75-66.
“They made tough shots,” Boylen said. “Maybe that’s veteran leadership, but they were tough, guarded shots.”
The Utes fought hard to get back within one again at 87-86 with 2 minutes and 29 seconds remaining, but the Vandals responded, and a Hopson 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining put the game out of reach at 92-86.
Despite losing, Boylen said he was pleased with the effort that his players showed in working to get back in the game.
“I thought we battled,” Boylen said. “I don’t like that we gave up 94 points in our building or losing the rebound game, but in saying that we battled back, we hung in there.”
The Utes will have to put the loss behind them quickly, as they will host in-state rival Utah State on Wednesday.
Brown said he put his poor performance behind him as soon as the game was over and will be doing whatever he can to lead the team in its preparation.
“I walked into the locker room and spoke my piece, and now I’m going to do everything I can to get this train rolling and get us going,” Brown said.
The Utes will face Utah State on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Huntsman Center.
Thien Sok/The Daily Utah ChronicleJim Boylen and his team got off to a rough season opener Friday night as the team lost to Idaho 94-87. The Utes will look to get their first win of the season Wednesday when they take on Utah State.