SALT LAKE CITY — Going into Saturday afternoon's game with Utah, Colorado State center Andy Ogide had made only three 3-pointers all season. So the Utes didn't bother to guard the 6-foot-9 senior much when he stepped out to 3-point range.
Big mistake.
Ogide matched his season total of 3-pointers in the first half alone and also beat the Utes inside on his way to a career-high 28 points. The Utes' inability to stop Ogide was probably the difference in the 74-68 loss, which dropped the Utes back below .500 on the season to 10-11 and 3-4 in Mountain West Conference play.
"Andy was terrific and we needed him to be terrific," said Colorado State coach Tim Miles. "Tonight he was special. You just have to credit Andy for going out and making those plays, every one of them."
Miles claims it wasn't part of the gameplan to send Ogide out to 3-point range in order to bring out Utah's 7-footers David Foster and Jason Washburn.
"Utah is a tough prep for teams," he said. "Jim (Boylen) does an outstanding job and the looks you get defensively are unique from just about anybody else we see."
The Utes' Boylen was a little defensive when talking about his defensive plan against Ogide.
"I'm not going to bring my centers out of the paint," he said. "(Ogide) has shot seven (3-pointers) all year. So people are probably going to overreact to the 28 points. He had a terrific game and made three of four 3-pointers. That was a difficult pill to swallow."
"We didn't play him much as a shooter, but he came out and wasn't afraid to shoot them," said Washburn. "They were dropping for him tonight."
Ogide said he likes playing at the Huntsman Center because it reminds him of the arena when he played for Mississippi.
"I was trying to get the big guys out," he said. "I was trying to get them to respect my shot so I could get the drive and I was able to do that."
Ogide had 20 points by halftime as neither Foster or Washburn had an answer for him. He cooled down the second half, but he came up with the key basket of the game after Utah had rallied from an 11-point deficit to tie the game at 68-68 with 2:49 left.
Working in the paint left of the basket, Ogide drove across the lane and banked in a 5-footer over Foster.
"We needed two points — I had the shot and had to take it and knock it down," Ogide said.
Both Washburn and Will Clyburn said the Utes' offense wasn't a problem Saturday, but they must play better defense.
"We've got to play defense if we're going to beat teams like Colorado State," Washburn said.
50 YEARS LATER: The 1961 Utah team, which finished 23-8 and made it to the NCAA Final Four, was honored at halftime.
After a commemorative video was shown, each player was presented with a jersey by athletics director Chris Hill, featuring "60-61" under "Utah".
The biggest applause was reserved for former all-American center Billy McGill, who was introduced last. Other players honored included Joe Aufderheide, Allen Holmes, Neil Jenson, Jim Rhead, Ed Rowe, Rich Ruffell and Mel Yergensen.
Also honored at halftime were former assistant coach Morris Buckwalter, former ticket manager Ted Jacobsen and the family of former trainer Walt Deland.
The Utes wore "retro" jerseys from the 1960s and several fans were heard to say they like those jerseys better than the team's regular jerseys.
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