Utah Utes basketball: Season finale — Tulsa turns back Ute rallies to put end to season
As they have so many times this year, the Utes fought back from a large deficit to make a game of it, but couldn't get the defensive stops when they needed, they gave up a key offensive rebound down the stretch and were beaten at the free-throw line.
The Golden Hurricane won the quarterfinal game in the College Basketball Invitational by making big plays down the stretch to hold off a gritty Ute team that battled all the way, as usual.
Tulsa scored on five straight possessions as Utah tried to get closer than five and sank 29 free throws on the night compared to 15 for the Utes.
"We didn't make that big play we talked about all year, that big stop, that big play at the end that you have to make," said Utah coach Jim Boylen. "They make 18 field goals we make 19, we make seven 3s, they make four, they made 29 free throws and we make 15. So you can figure out where the difference in the game was."
"You have to give them credit — they got 'em and they made 'em and that's what good teams do," he said. "I want to give Tulsa credit. I think they have an improving, jelling team and I think they're playing great basketball. We could never overcome that 15-point deficit."
Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik, a former Michigan State assistant before Boylen took his place in 2005, agreed that foul shooting was a key to the game. The 36 free-throw attempts were the most his team had shot all season.
"Overall, our free throw shooting was absolutely fantastic,"
Wojcik said. "To shoot 81 percent and actually get to the line 36 times, that was the key to the game for us."
Johnnie Bryant led Utah with 19 points in his final game as a Ute and sank 5 of 10 from 3-point range, while Luke Nevill added 12.
"At half we were just talking about playing one possession at a time on offense and defense and competing," Bryant said. "But we just couldn't get over that five-point hump."
The Utes looked like they might get blown out of a game for the first time since the Santa Clara game more than four months ago when they fell behind 35-20 at halftime. Bryant kept the Utes from being completely blown out as he sank four 3-pointers in the first half.
Utah's largest deficit all season had been 17 points against Santa Clara back in November, but that's how much the Utes found themselves trailing a minute into the second half. Then Luka Drca, Shaun Green and Lawrence Borha hit consecutive shots to quickly cut the lead to 10.
When Carlon Brown hit a pair of free throws with 9:28 left, the Tulsa lead was cut to five at 46-41. The Utes hung close and were still down by five when Bryant sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2:45 left.
However, the Utes couldn't stop the Hurricane as Ray Reese came down and answered with a 3-pointer and after Drca made a three to make it 59-54, Brett McDade sank a shot in the lane to push the lead to seven with 1:45 left and that was as close as the Utes could get.
Ben Uzoh led all scorers with 22 points, including 11 of 14 from the free throw line and Reese added 16 and Jerome Jordan 12.
Nevill's 12 points came on 4-of-12 shooting, while Kim Tillie went 0-for-5, including four misses in the first six minutes.
"I was proud of my team the way we battled back," Boylen said. "We did some good things. A play here and a play there, an in- and-out ball here or there and it's a different game. But again we got beat on the free throw line and on the boards."
While the Utes are done for the season at 18-15, Tulsa (22-13) will advance to the CBI semifinals Wednesday night at home against Houston. Bradley and Virginia will play in the other semifinal game Wednesday.
GAME NOTES: Boylen picked up his fourth technical of the season with 13:39 left in the first half when he thought the Utes got a defensive stop, but instead a foul was called on Drca. ... The Utes had beaten another Conference USA team at UTEP last Wednesday 81-69 to get to the quarterfinals, ... The Utes are now 4-2 all-time against Tulsa, with three victories coming during the three years the two schools were in the WAC together (1996-99). ... The only previous Tulsa victory in the series came in 1953, Jack Gardner's first year, a 56-51 victory in Tulsa.
E-mail: sor@desnews.com
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