Utah Basketball Snaps Long Losing Streak With Win Over Oregon State
Feb 3, 2022, 9:10 PM
Utah Utes guard Lazar Stefanovic (20) drives to the basket as Utah and Oregon State play in Pac-12 basketball action at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. (Mengshin Lin, Deseret News)
(Mengshin Lin, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – Dec. 21 was the last time that Utah basketball won a game but that changed on Thursday night with an 84-59 victory over Oregon State.
Lazar Stefanovic led Utah basketball in their win over Oregon State with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Rollie Worster and David Jenkins Jr. each scored 13 points. Branden Carlson recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Both Gach added 11 points.
It’s been 43 days since the Runnin’ Utes won a game.
Roman Silva and Jarod Lucas scored 12 points apiece to lead Oregon State.
Back in the win column! 🙌#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/kyuDbudpJa
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 4, 2022
Utah Basketball Scorches Nets From Three In First Half Against Oregon State
It was a struggle early for both teams on the offensive end but the switch flipped, particularly from the three-point line. Oregon State showed that one of their weaknesses was guarding the perimeter. So, Utah attacked that and it worked. In the first 20 minutes of play, Utah shot 9-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Four of those triples came from Lazar Stefanovic on 4-for-6 shooting. Both Gach added two three-pointers, along with one from David Jenkins Jr., Riley Battin and Gabe Madsen.
At the half, Utah took a 46-33 lead. Stefanovic led the way with 12 points. Four Utes added six points apiece, including Jenkins Jr., Gach, Branden Carlson and Rollie Worster.
Oregon State started the second half on a 5-0 run in the first 90 seconds. That didn’t last long as the Runnin’ Utes countered with a 10-0 run and extended their lead to 63-45 with 9:35 remaining in the game.
Utah pulled away over the next eight minutes as they went on a 22-5 run.
The Runnin’ Utes improved their record to 9-14 overall and 2-11 in Pac-12 play. They will return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Saturday, February 5 against Oregon at 6:30 p.m. MT on FS1.
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.
