Branden Carlson’s Career Night Spoiled As Utah Basketball Falls Late To Colorado

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah basketball big man Branden Carlson had his career night spoiled as the Runnin’ Utes fell to Colorado 81-76 on Saturday night.

Carlson led Utah basketball with a career high 25 points to go with his eight rebounds against Colorado. Marco Anthony recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Gabe Madsen chipped in 14 points, while Rollie Worster added 12 points.

Jabari Walker scored 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for CU in the win. Evan Batty dropped 16 points, while Tristan da Silva and Keeshawn Barthelemy each scored 14 points.

Tough one from Boulder… pic.twitter.com/pXQ05vuD8h

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 13, 2022

Branden Carlson Has Big First Half For Utah Basketball

After an 8-0 run to start the game, Colorado was able to get some shots to fall but the Runnin’ Utes kept the lead near the midway point of the first half. Branden Carlson was having a tremendous first half as he put up 18 of Utah’s first 25 points of the game. He was getting everything to fall, scoring in the paint with his back to the basket and hitting threes.

Through the first 12 minutes of the game, Carlson hit eight of his first nine shot attempts, including a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. That momentum carried them to an 11-point lead with under five minutes to play but Colorado was starting to lock down on defense and getting buckets on the other end.

The Runnin’ Utes took a 36-33 lead at the half. Carlson finished the first 20 minutes with 21 points and four rebounds. Rollie Worster added five points. Evan Battey dropped 10 points to lead the Buffs.

Colorado Pulls Off Comeback With Late Second Half Rally

Carlson scored a new career-high early in the second half but Colorado was doing everything they can to shut down the Utah big man. That’s when Gabe Madsen picked up the slack with three triples in the first five minutes.

Despite the strong defense being played by Colorado, Utah was finding creative ways to score and keep their lead. The Buffs crawled all the way back to trailing by one point with six minutes remaining.

Both teams exchanged leads from that point but Utah was hurting themselves with costly turnovers. Down the stretch, Carlson had great looks around the rim but couldn’t get them to fall. Colorado was on an 11-2 run, while Utah was scoreless in the last 2:42 and trailed 73-67 with 1:32 remaining in the game.

Gabe Madsen got the Utes out of the drought with two free throws. The Runnin’ Utes trailed by two points with 28.8 seconds left after Marco Anthony hit a big midrange jumper.

Colorado knocked down two free throws to make it a two-possession game with 22.5 seconds left.

Utah dropped their record to 9-16 overall and 3-13 in Pac-12 play. They will be on the road to face Stanford on Thursday, February 17 at 9 p.m. MT on ESPNU.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com, Co-Host of Faith, Family and Football podcast with Clark Phillips III and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports.

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