Finishing out games continues to be a problem for Utah heading into a clash with California Baptist in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
The Utes (6-3) lost at California 79-72 on Tuesday night after scoring a single field goal in the final three minutes of the game. Seydou Traore made it 72-70 on a jumper with 3:21 left, but Utah could not overtake the Bears after going ice cold on offense. Four missed baskets, a missed free throw and two turnovers over seven straight possessions doomed the Utes.
It undermined an otherwise solid effort that saw five Utah players score in double figures — led by Terrence Brown with 15 points.
Utah’s offense similarly bogged down late in a 75-74 victory over Mississippi. First-year Utes coach Alex Jensen characterized his team as habitual over-dribblers and said their reluctance to play the pass causes the offense to bog down under pressure.
“That was one thing I just told them after the game, you’ve got to pass it,” Jensen told the Deseret News. “Learn how to play without the ball. There’s a lot of things I can do to help them, but at the end of the day, it’s just pass in space.”
Cal Baptist can make things tough if Utah bogs down on offense again.
The Lancers (7-2) are finishing a three-game road swing against Big 12 opponents. They put a scare into Colorado on Monday, losing 78-70 after leading by as many as 14 points in the first half.
Wednesday’s 91-60 loss to BYU was a completely different story.
From the opening tip, Cal Baptist struggled to stop the Cougars from doing whatever they wanted to do on offense. BYU scored baskets on 10 straight possessions in the second half to build up a 31-point lead. The Lancers were unable to keep up after enduring multiple cold shooting spells. Aside from getting 12 points from Martel Williams, no other Cal Baptist player scored in double figures.
The Utes are 1-2 against schools from the state of California this season with their lone win coming against San Jose State.
–Field Level Media
