SALT LAKE CITY — Late night with the Runnin’ Utes turned out to be a good thing Wednesday in the Huntsman Center.
Those who stayed up saw Utah extend its winning streak to four games with a 73-64 victory over California.
"I thought the arena was great for a late night game and the energy in the arena was really cool and seeing the blackout was really cool," said Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak. "Fans really helped us I think and that’s always the case when you are playing at home. I thought our guys really played off the crowd.
The Utes, who are now 16-5 overall and 5-3 in Pac-12 play, were led by 21 points and nine rebounds from Jakob Poeltl. Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Taylor scored 15 apiece.
The 9 p.m. start — Utah’s latest of the season at home — isn’t new to the Utes. It’s the same time (Mountain, any how) that last Thursday’s 92-71 win at Washington State began. They’ll have a similar tip next week at Oregon State.
In contrast, Utah’s 77-75 overtime victory at Duke on Dec. 19 started at 10 a.m. MST.
Despite the wide swing, game times aren’t something the Utes discuss.
“I think the more you talk about it, the more it becomes a problem,” said Krystkowiak, who noted that his experience with games in the NBA featured changing time zones and some crazy stuff. “It shouldn’t be something you’re thinking about.”
The Utes did make a few minor tweaks to their routine, however, for the later-than-normal start for television (ESPNU). Their mandatory team breakfast wasn’t as early as usual, allowing players who didn’t have class conflicts to sleep a little longer. In addition, they moved shootaround up and ate their pregame meal a little earlier. The team was then sent home with some snacks.
Despite those things, it was pretty much business as usual.
“I think it can become a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy if you want to make it a big deal and talk about it,” Krystkowiak said. “It’s important that we’re ready when they tip it up, whether it’s noon or midnight.”
The message got through.
After a couple of lead changes early, Utah reeled off seven straight points to pull ahead 14-8. It ushered in a 17-3 run that gave the Utes a 24-11 advantage with 10:30 to go in the opening half. California missed seven consecutive shots at one point.
The Bears climbed back into contention, though, with a 7-0 burst. The Utes, in turn, responded with success on both ends of the floor. They scored the next six points to capitalize on another Cal shooting drought — six misses — to take a 30-18 edge.
Over the final 3:21, however, the momentum shifted to the Bears. They cut the deficit to 35-34 by halftime.
Things continued to go Cal’s way when play resumed. The Bears opened the second half with six straight points to take the lead.
After being held scoreless for more than two minutes, Utah regained its composure and went on a decisive run to secure the victory. Taylor hit two 3-pointers during a 12-0 span that eventually swelled into a 19-2 run by the time the half reached its midway point.
Leading 54-42, Utah never trailed again. The Utes even made it a 14-point margin down the stretch. It proved to be enough for them to weather a late rally by the Bears. They pulled to within four before Taylor converted on a 3-point play with 5:37 left to play.
Poeltl, Kuzma and Lorenzo Bonam teamed for the next seven points as Utah netted more than ample cushion to avenge a 71-58 setback to Cal in Berkeley back on Jan. 3.
The Utes wound up outrebounding the Bears 38-36 and had 15 assists.
Utah returns to action Saturday (3 p.m., P12N) at home against Stanford (11-8, 4-4). The Cardinal, who defeated the Utes (70-68 in overtime) Jan. 1 in the Pac-12 opener, dropped a 91-75 decision at Colorado earlier in the evening.
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