The Utah men’s basketball team took on the UCLA Bruins in a game that seemed like a must-win for a Utah team coming off back-to-back losses. Utah started slow but picked it up in the second half en route to a 90-44 win over a struggling UCLA team, scoring 57 second-half points to improve to 12-4 on the year.

First Half

The Utah defense was spectacular in the first half, holding the Bruins to just 23 points on 34% shooting. The length of Branden Carlson, Keba Keita and Lawson Lovering was too much for UCLA to handle down low, which led to their poor shooting throughout the first half. Utah headed into the halftime locker room with a 33-23 lead and plenty of work to do to put this one away.

Utah’s offense was slow from the start but picked up later in the half thanks to a couple of 3-pointers by Gabe Madsen and Deivon Smith. Keita and Carlson led the Utes’ scoring attack with seven points apiece, while Madsen was close behind with six points of his own.

Utah knocked down seven free throws to just two for UCLA, which helped the Utes take a 10-point lead into halftime. Considering Utah’s struggles in the past two games, the team had to be pleased with the defensive effort displayed by his team early in this one. In the second half, Utah continued playing tenacious defense and pushing the pace to put away a UCLA team that could use a big road win.

Second Half

The Utes absolutely dominated the second half, as they put up an astounding 57 points compared to just 21 for the Bruins. Utah’s offense started the second half on fire thanks to Madsen and Keita. Madsen knocked down a layup and a 3-pointer, while Keita was able to send home two monstrous dunks that sent the Huntsman crowd into a frenzy, forcing UCLA to call a timeout.

Utah continued to pour it on after the timeout with two made threes and a layup from Cole Bajema to get him in the scoring column for the first time in this game. UCLA had no answer for the transition offense that Utah displayed in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Going into the under-eight-minute media timeout, Utah held a 68-35 lead, led by a well-balanced scoring attack.

When it was all said and done, Utah ended up winning 90-44, grabbing their third conference win of the year.

Coming off of two sluggish performances, Utah looked like a completely different team, moving the ball well, limiting turnovers and locking down the UCLA guards for the entirety of the game. The Utes shot 50% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc in this game, thanks to some unbelievable offensive patience by moving the ball to get the best possible shot during almost every possession. The Utah guards looked calm and composed in the second half, knowing exactly when to pass the ball and when to take the open shot. Additionally, the Utah big men were also phenomenal, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds and playing some physical low-post defense all game.

Stuffing the Stat Sheet

The Utah offensive attack was extremely well-balanced, with five Utes scoring in double figures. Keita and Bajema led Utah with 14 points apiece on very efficient shooting. Carlson and Smith both had incredible stat lines, as Carlson finished with 12 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Smith put up 11 points and eight assists, helping pace the explosive Utah offensive attack. Madsen was able to put up 11 points, hitting big shots all night to help the Utes come away with a huge home win.

What’s Next for the Utes?

Utah will head back on the road this Sunday as they take on Stanford. The game will be featured on the Pac-12 Network on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 3:00 p.m. MST. Utah looks to continue their high level of play and secure their first road Pac-12 win of the season.

[email protected]

@Kylegarr23