Utah Suffers Fourth Straight Loss To Red-Hot UCLA

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome the scoring runs by the UCLA Bruins in their 76-61 loss on Thursday night in SLC.

Utah shot 44 percent from the field but UCLA was rolling from the floor, shooting 55 percent from the field and 58 percent from downtown. Branden Carlson led the Utes with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Ian Martinez and Riley Battin each added 10 points. Timmy Allen struggled offensively, finishing with 8 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

UCLA was led by Jules Bernard with 19 points. Johnny Juzang chipped in 18 points and 8 boards. Cody Riley posted 15 points and Jaime Jacquez Jr. scored 11 points.

The officials were not whistle-happy in this game. Only 17 fouls were called (10 on Utah, 7 on UCLA) and only 4 free throws were attempted. UCLA went 3-of-4 at the foul line while Utah didn’t attempt a free throw. For the first time in program history, Utah played a game without attempting a free throw.

Final. pic.twitter.com/mgHYbGLPFY

— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) February 26, 2021

Branden Carlson Keeps Utah Close To UCLA In First Half

It was a close first half throughout until the end when Utah went scoreless in the final 3:21 of the half and UCLA took advantage with a 6-0 run over that span. The Utes shot just 37 percent from the field. UCLA made 53 percent of their field goals and 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. Despite the difference in field goal percentage, the Bruins had a 35-27 halftime lead.

Branden Carlson was the standout for Utah in the first half, scoring 13 points and pulling down 3 rebounds and blocking 2 shots. Johnny Juzang had 12 points to lead the Bruins.

HALFTIME@UCLAMBB ended the half on a 6-0 run. @UtahMBB went scoreless for the last 3:21.#GoUtes #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/FogoCvhzOP

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 26, 2021

UCLA Starts Second Half With Big Run In Win Over Utah

The Bruins started the second half on a 16-5 run and had a 19-point lead. The Utes made their run to cut the lead to 14 but the Bruins weathered the mini run. The Bruins made 11 of their first 13 field goal attempts in the second half.

UCLA went scoreless for over three minutes but Utah couldn’t capitalize on it as they pulled to within 14 again. The Bruins went on to outscore the Utes 41-34 in the second half.

Utah dropped their record to 9-11 overall and 6-10 in Pac-12 play. They will continue their tough stretch of playing the top two teams in the conference when they host No. 19 USC on Saturday, February 27 at 6 p.m. MST on ESPN2.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.