Parker Van Dyke’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer completes 22-point comeback by Utah Utes in win over UCLA

LOS ANGELES — Parker Van Dyke’s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Utah its only lead and an improbable 93-92 victory over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion Saturday. The Utes rallied from 22 points down in the final 12 minutes to prevail.

“It felt pretty good when it came out of my hands,” said Van Dyke, who fired off the game-winner from about 28 feet out after getting the ball from backcourt mate Sedrick Barefield. “My mind was pretty clear. Sedrick made a great pass and I just came up and just kind of let it fly.”

As soon as the shot fell and time expired, Van Dyke was mobbed by his teammates.

“What a play. What a game,” Van Dyke said. “I’ll remember this forever.”

It was truly one for the ages. UCLA led 69-47 before Utah began its rally midway through the second half. The Utes didn’t even cut the deficit to single-digits — at 83-75 — until just 2:30 remained. They didn’t make it a one-possession game until the final 19 seconds.

Utah pulled within one on two occasions down the stretch and trailed by two after UCLA’s David Singleton made a free throw with five seconds left to play. The Utes inbounded the ball and Barefield attacked the top of the UCLA zone before flipping the ball back to Van Dyke.

“He made it the best pass of my life,” Barefield said. “Man, honestly, probably the best thing I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here.”

Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak noted it was a “crazy tale of two halves.” He said his ticker was fine, but his mind was “a little overwhelmed” by the circumstances at game’s end.

“It was crazy, made for TV,” said Krystkowiak, who added that it was neat to be a part of.

Marcio Jose Sanchez

Krystkowiak reminded his team and the officials that a comeback was in the works when things didn’t look so good after one half of play.

“We’re coming back. I said this one was going to be ‘SportsCenter.’ Mark my words,” Krystkowiak noted. “So in the back of my mind I was a believer that something crazy could happen.”

It did, giving Utah (13-10, 7-4) its fourth consecutive road win. Timmy Allen led the Utes with 22 points. Riley Battin and Barefield finished with 18 and 19, respectively, while Van Dyke added 15 — all on 3-pointers.

Utah fell behind early when UCLA jumped out to a 25-13 lead with a run that included 10 straight points. The outburst gave the Bruins some breathing room and they eventually built a pair of 16-point advantages.

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Utah answered with back-to-back 3-point shots by Both Gach and Barefield to close the gap to 42-32, but Utes would draw no closer. They trailed 49-32 by halftime. The Bruins held a 32-10 advantage in points in the paint, making 14 layups including 10 dunks.

“That was just a complete lack of effort on a lot of guys' part, a lack of awareness,” Krystkowiak said. “We’re standing and we got absolutely punched and we didn’t respond very well.”

Krystkowiak added that it didn’t involve a lot of adjustments. It was more about effort. The Utes outscored UCLA 61-43 in the second half to pull out the win.

“We just kept fighting,” Van Dyke said. “Coach K always talks about 'you’re never out of a fight,' and it was great resilience on our part. Hopefully we can take some of this road mentality and bring it home with us.”

Utah returns to the Huntsman Center next week to face Arizona (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Arizona State (Saturday, 8 p.m.). The Utes travel to Washington and Washington State the following week.

Utah returns to the Huntsman Center next week to face Arizona (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Arizona State (Saturday, 8 p.m.). The Utes travel to Washington and Washington State the following week.