Utes Torch Huskies From Three In Pac-12 Tournament Win

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Utes men’s basketball team was on fire from the three-point line in their 98-95 win over the Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 Tournament.

The Utes faced the Huskies in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Utah made a season-high 14 three-pointers in this game.

Timmy Allen notched a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Utes. Alfonso Plummer added 21 points, including 6-of-11 from the three-point line. Branden Carlson scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds. Pelle Larsson and Mikael Jantunen chipped in 12 points apiece.

Quade Green had 31 points to lead all scorers and Jamal Bey chipped in 18 points for Washington.

The Utes won their first Pac-12 Conference tournament game since 2016 when they went all the way to the championship game before falling to Oregon.

FINAL

Survive and advance. @UtahMBB will face @USC_Hoops on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MT.#GoUtes #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/h3Bf0c4gDc

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 11, 2021

Utes Knock Down Eight Threes In First Half Against Huskies

Utah jumped out to a 7-0 run, all from Alfonso Plummer over a six-minute stretch. Plummer nailed a three-pointer while getting fouled. He hit the free throw and then made another triple minutes later. That run inflated to 17-2 as Utah took a 23-10 lead with under 13 minutes left.

Washington called a timeout after Branden Carlson hit a three-pointer, which was Utah’s fifth of the game on seven attempts. The run was at 20-2 over a 3:55 stretch and 10-0 over a 1:28 span.

From the midway point to the first half until halftime, Utah struggled shooting the ball. Washington was able to make some shots and the Utes struggled with the Huskies’ zone. Riley Battin made a three-pointer with under two-minutes left and Timmy Allen made a jump shot with four seconds left to give Utah a 47-35 halftime lead.

Allen (13) and Plummer (12) combined for 25 points in the first half. Quade Green scored 9 points to lead the Huskies. Utah shot 50 percent (15-30) from the field and 53 percent (8-15) from beyond the arc in the first half. Washington connected on 47 percent of their field goals and made just two of their 11 three-point attempts.

Utes WIN! pic.twitter.com/M0ndbd5h60

— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) March 11, 2021

Utah Ends Pac-12 Tournament Drought With Impressive Second Half On Offensive End

Starting the second half, Utah was finding their rhythm on the offensive end again. Pelle Larsson made a couple of three-pointers in the first six minutes of the half. Plummer also knocked down a triple. The only problem was that Utah could stop Washington’s offensive attack.

Utah’s offense stayed strong midway through the second half but Washington was hanging with them as well. The Utes were up by 16 at the 10-minute mark.

After getting their lead up to 19 points, Washington made one last effort to get back into the game. They were able to cut the lead to 12 with 3:34 left. The Huskies pulled to within nine points before Plummer hit his sixth triple of the game. Then Washington made another three to cut the lead back to nine with 1:36 left in the game.

Utah advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament. They will face No. 2 USC on Thursday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. MT on the Pac-12 Network.

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.