The Runnin’ Utes stayed hot after last week’s big upset of No. 4 Arizona, sneaking past Washington State 67-65 on Sunday afternoon at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.
Rollie Worster made a pair of free throws with 25.1 seconds left in the overtime period and the Utes survived after leading by six with three minutes remaining.
Worster led the Utes with a season-high 19 points, while Marco Anthony added 13.
Utah improved to 2-0 in Pac-12 play, 7-2 overall. Up next for the Utes is a non-conference game Thursday against Jacksonville State at the Huntsman Center.
Here are 3 keys to Utah’s second conference win:
• Gabe Madsen went scoreless in the second half after netting eight points in the first half, then hit a 3-pointer in overtime that gave the Utes a 65-59 lead with 3:15 left. Utah got 17 points from its bench.
• Anthony made a 3-point play with 6.4 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the score at 59-59, and Keba Keita blocked Dylan Darling’s layup as time expired to send the game into overtime. The Utes had six blocked shots, and held the Cougars to 32% shooting from the field.
• Mouhamed Gueye led WSU with 20 points before fouling out with 4:35 remaining in the game. The Cougars were just 4 of 30 from 3-point range (13%) against the Utes, who are No. 6 in the country in 3-point shooting percentage defense.