Surpassing milestones was the theme of the night Thursday at the Huntsman Center as the Runnin’ Utes defeated the Oregon State Beavers 72-61.
In its fifth try, Utah finally claimed its fourth victory in conference play, surpassing last season’s total. Additionally, Jason Washburn became the 35th player in Utes’ history to surpass the 1,000-point mark for his career. The big man needed just two points to reach the milestone, and got them early via a layup. He finished with 15 points.
Once the ball went through the net, the crowd went wild and Washburn raised his arms, signifying he was aware of the accomplishment.
“The way the crowd just went off, all of the signs, I couldn’t help but crack just a little smile,” Washburn said. “I’m in the company with some of the greatest names in Utah history, and it’s a real humbling thing to be honest. It’s a sweet, sweet feeling. I’ve got no words to describe it.”
Perhaps it was appropriate that both milestones were achieved in Utah’s best game in a long while. After dropping four straight, the Utes used solid defense and sharp shooting to beat the Beavers. Jordan Loveridge paced Utah with a team-high 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals in 39 minutes. Roberto Nelson led Oregon State with 18 points.
The contest was a big departure from when the two teams played Feb. 6, as the Utes lost that game by 18. In particular, Utah won the rebounding battle by 10 Thursday after losing it in Corvallis.
“This game, we were determined to make them play a little of our style of basketball and that’s what we did,” Washburn said. “Every guy bought into it. Every guy that came onto the court tonight produced. Every guy that came onto the court tonight bought into the game plan.”
After finishing the first 20 minutes with a four-point lead, Utah came out blazing hot in the second half in connecting on six of its first eight shots to seize control of the game. Oregon State showed why it is last in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, as five of the six Ute buckets were uncontested. With Utah ahead by 19 late, the Beavers went on an 8-0 run to finish the game, but it hardly mattered as the Utes coasted to the victory.
“We just passed the ball,” said Brandon Taylor, who hit two threes during the key stretch and finished with 12 points. “We weren’t selfish. We weren’t playing for individuality. We were playing for the team.”
With Utah and Oregon State having entered the contest tied for 10th in the Pac-12, the win put Utah in the driver’s seat to head into next week’s conference tournament as the No. 10 seed. OSU and Washington State are tied for 11th with one conference game remaining for all three teams.
The Utes will close the regular season Saturday at home against the Oregon Ducks. Tipoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. and will be the final home game for Washburn and fellow seniors David Foster, Cedric Martin, Ryan Osterloh and Jarred DuBois.
“I want to win,” Washburn said. “Let’s come out and play the way we did tonight. Not for me, not for our seniors, but for our team, our coach and this program.”