In a game that went back and forth all night, Boise State’s Derrick Marks hit a 12-foot pull up jumper in the final minute to put the Broncos up for good and the Utes suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 69-67 after fighting back from a first-half deficit following the ejection of Princeton Onwas on a controversial call.
“This was a great college environment and early-season test for both teams,” Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “I was really pleased with how we responded with fire in the second half. We made mistakes early and obviously losing Princeton hurt us with our depth. We had open looks at the end of the day and we were able to accomplish a lot of things.”
Boise State and Utah came into the game as two of the top scoring teams in the nation, but few would have guessed that by watching the first half. The Utes seemed content with jacking up jump shot after jump shot. Not surprisingly, they had a hard time producing any offense. Junior Delon Wright almost single-handedly kept Utah alive early and finished the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Undoubtedly the most controversial moment of the game came in the first half as Ute starting small forward Princeton ed to clear space by swinging the ball over the defender, and in the process, he elbowed Elorriaga in the chin. It appeared to be non-malicious, but after discussing the matter for quite some time, the officials called a Flagrant 2 on Onwas and he was ejected from the game.
After a slow start, both teams offenses woke up in the second half with Utah trailing by seven. Jordan Loveridge, who scored just three points in the first frame, finished with 19 to go along with five rebounds as the Utes clawed back into the contest. With Onwas no longer available, freshman Kenneth Ogbe stepped up and showed that he could shoot the ball. Ogbe made his first three shots, all three- pointers, and provided a lift off the bench.
“We have some freshmen who are ‘basketball players,’ ” Krystkowiak said. “He was huge and made big shots. I like his length and the more comfortable he is in his role, we will continue to integrate him more in the lineup.”
With just under 16 minutes to go, Boise State star Derrick Marks was forced to sit after picking up his fourth foul and Utah took advantage. On the ensuing Ute possession, Loveridge made a move to the hoop that resulted in a layup. On the very next Utah possession, Loveridge drove again, this time missing a tough layup attempt, but he got his own rebound and banked home a shot while getting fouled. He made the free throw for the three-point play, tying the game at 37.
It was a seesaw battle after that, with each team making runs and the other one answering.
With the Utes leading 53-49, the Broncos switched to a 2-3 zone that halted the Utah attack and led to 10-2 Boise State run and a 59-55 lead. That run was part of seven straight Boise State possessions in which they scored.
Marks returned in the closing minutes for the Broncos and he and Loveridge would take turns hitting shots to give their team the lead. The final lead changing shot, however, went to Marks.
The Utes weren’t without their chances late, though, but Ogbe missed a three and Wright committed a turnover with Utah still down by one. The game ended on a Loveridge half-court heave that fell well short.
“This was a good test,” Krystkowiak said after the game. “There are plenty of things we can look at going forward. Boise will be a Top 25 team and we were really pleased with our performance. This is like a Pac-12 road game and we’re going to play these types of games all season. How can you not be excited when you play games like these?”
The Utes fell to 6-1 on the year and will play Fresno State next on Saturday at the Huntsman Center.