BOULDER, Colo. — Before crossing the Rockies for Thursday’s late-night game at Colorado, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak noted that he wasn’t interested in any outside opinions when it came to who was and who wasn’t playing after the Utes had extended their Pac-12 road skid to four games.
Krystkowiak, instead, conferred with his staff in a lengthy meeting after last week’s losses at Oregon and Oregon State.
“Those are the guys I trust more than anybody on the planet,” he said.
After conferring with the group, Krystkowiak pronounced that the coaches had a “pretty good blueprint” on the situation.
Then came a twist. Freshman guard Devon Daniels didn’t make the trip and was suspended indefinitely by Krystkowiak for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
However, when all was said and done, Utah came out victorious anyway, posting an 86-81 win over Colorado before a sparse crowd at a late game on a snowy night.
It’s the seventh straight time the Utes have defeated the Buffaloes and their fourth consecutive triumph at the Coors Event Center.
Krystkowiak credited his squad for hitting free throws (8 of 10 in the final 47 seconds) and keeping the number of turnovers low (10, including just two in the second half).
"We made enough plays so it was a good boost for us," Krystkowiak said.
Gabe Bealer started in place of Daniels and Utah raced out to a 7-0 advantage. Colorado eventually made a game out of it as the score was tied three times and the lead changed hands on two occasions before the first half was complete.
By then, though, Utah had battled back to hold a 37-29 edge. At one point, the Utes were up by as many as 12 points.
Lorenzo Bonam paced a balanced attack for Utah with eight points at the end of the opening half. David Collette added seven points and six rebounds.
The Utes took the lead for good with a 19-5 run that wiped out a 15-13 score in favor of Colorado. Seven players scored in the pivotal stretch.
Utah never trailed in the second half, although Colorado managed to make things interesting in the final minutes. The Buffaloes pulled within two points before Tyler Rawson made a foul shot and Kuzma added two to regain some much-needed breathing room.
Rawson and Kuzma later iced it by knocking down two free throws apiece in a game that ended just before 11:30 p.m.
Kuzma wound up leading the Utes with 25 points. Collette added 14, while Bonam added 12. Bealer, JoJo Zamora and Rawson contributed eight points apiece.
"We held it down tonight and good things happened for us," Kuzma said.
Derrick White topped all scorers with 31 for Colorado.
The outcome improved Utah’s record to 18-10 overall and 9-7 in the Pac-12. Colorado fell to 16-13 and 6-10.
Utah concludes the regular season next week with home games against California Thursday (9 p.m., ESPNU) and Stanford Saturday (2 p.m., P12N). The Pac-12 Tournament is the following week at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.