A last second shot, but one that was a little too late.

Down 81-80 with the ball for the last 12.1 seconds of the game, the Utes were looking for a game-winning shot, but it didn’t happen. Utah got a poor look, and Kyle Kuzma took a forced three-pointer. As a result, the No. 4 UCLA Bruins went on to win in the Huntsman Center, 83-82, following a pair of free throws and a last second basket from Lorenzo Bonam at the buzzer.

Head coach Larry Krystkowiak wasn’t too happy with the way his players performed in the last stretch, and he thinks Bonam was fouled on that final play of the game.

“”I’m pretty pissed that we lost,”  Krystkowiak said. “I couldn’t believe Lorenzo got it, and he shot it. And I think he got hit on the arm. As fluke-ish as it was, I think he got hit on the arm. I don’t want that to be a headline — that we think we got robbed — because we had plenty of opportunities to take care of business.”

Bonam said there was no contact on that last play, but he thinks the Utes should have come out on top.

“We most definitely let one get away,” Bonam said.

Second chance points burned the Utes as UCLA had 10 offensive rebounds that resulted in 23 second chance points for the Bruins. The Utes had five players finish scoring in double digits, and Bonam led the pack with 19 points, and he had four assists. 

UCLA opened up the game on a high note, and the Bruins went up 7-2. Kuzma hit a three-pointer, and Devon Daniels made a layup to tie the game at 7. JoJo Zamora hit his own three-pointer, and the Utes took a 10-7 advantage.

Four and a half minutes into the action it was a tie game again at 12. Daniels got going, and he gave Utah a two point lead after another layup.

Utah worked its way up to a five point lead about seven minutes into the game, 22-17. After a UCLA free throw, Barefield hit a jumper, and Utah led by six points. That Utah lead wouldn’t last for long though, and UCLA soon tied the game at 24.

Following a Collette free throw, the Bruins scored a couple of layups, one off of an offensive rebound, and they led 28-25. After a Utah timeout, the Utes turned the ball over, and on the subsequent possession the Bruins scored to go up 30-25.

The Utes struggled to guard the paint, and the Bruins worked their way to a seven point lead, 34-27, after Thomas Welsh hit a baseline jumper.

Bonam made a reverse layup to make it a five point deficit, but Bryce Alford hit a fadeaway jump shot to bring it back up to seven. A Bruin free throw gave the visiting team an eight point lead, 37-29.

Daniels attacked the basket a couple of times, and he cut that lead in half to four points. Bonam hit a layup to make it a one possession game, and Collette capped off an 8-0 run to tie the game at 37. TJ Leaf got the Bruins back on top after a dunk.

Utah briefly had the lead after Daniels hit a baseline three-pointer, but after failing to box out on the other end of the floor, Alford hit one final three pointer in the first half, and UCLA had a two point 42-40 lead heading into the locker room.

Utah rallied off an 11-0 run to open up the second half, and the Utes went on top 51-42. However, Ball got the Bruins on the board when he hit a three-pointer.

“Basketball is a game of runs, and I knew it was going to be a close game [despite the 11-0 run] — just didn’t know how it was going to end,” Bonam said.

UCLA got within four points off a Utah turnover, and the Utes held on to a 55-51 lead. After another failed box out, UCLA hit a three, and the Bruins were within one point.

Daniels got the lead back up to three points after a layup, however, it didn’t slow down UCLA as the Bruins went on to take a 58-57 lead. A oversight led to another Utah turnover, and UCLA went up by three points.

After a couple of baskets from each team, Collette was fouled, made the layup, and thanks to a lane violation he completed a three point play, and it was a tie game at 62. A three-pointer from Barefield put the Utes up 65-62. After a UCLA basket, Bonam drained another three-pointer, and Utah led 68-64.

Ball then hit a deep three-pointer, but Barefield hit his own three, too. UCLA hit a couple of baskets, and the game was tied at 73.

Kuzma made a backdoor layup, but UCLA matched it. Barefield got another two points, but on the other end of the court Daniels fouled Alford when he was behind the arc. Alford made the three-pointer, but not the free throw, and UCLA led 78-77.

Utah will take on Washington State on Wednesday at 7 p.m., and Barefield hopes the team took a lesson away from Saturday’s loss.

“We gotta learn from those little things that we didn’t do,” Barefield said.

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