For a few brief moments on a sleepy Sunday afternoon at the Huntsman Center, the possibility that the lowly Cal Bears — perhaps the worst team in Power Six college basketball — could upset the Runnin’ Utes entered the minds of the 3,500 or so fans in attendance.
Then Jaxon Brenchley took over.
Jaxon who?
The seldom-used senior from the Cache Valley, who had scored a grand total of four points all season and who had watched from the bench in all but 11 of Utah’s games this year, sparked the Utes with a personal 8-0 run and Utah rolled from there to a 61-46 victory to snap its two-game losing skid.
“It feels good to get back on track. What a game of beauty tonight, depending on your perspective. But at the end of the day, we took care of business.” — Utah basketball coach Craig Smith
“I have been working hard all season. It is great to have an opportunity to (play) and I am just really grateful it worked out tonight and I had some shots fall,” said Brenchley, who finished with a season-high 10 points. “The flow of the game kinda came easy. I am just really excited and grateful for the opportunity to get the win, first and foremost.”
It was a win the Utes (16-9, 9-5) had to have, and they got it in convincing fashion after a miserable start. Cal (3-20, 2-10), the Pac-12’s last-place team, jumped out to an 18-11 lead while Utah started like it was still wallowing in the despair of Thursday’s 78-72 loss to Stanford that was easily the most disappointing setback of the 2022-23 campaign.
Brenchley grabbed an offensive rebound, scored and was fouled, then completed the 3-point play to get the Utes going. Next trip down the floor, he drained a 3-pointer. Another and-one — he missed the free throw — made it 19-18 Utes and the rout was on.
Lazar Stefanovic, who led all scorers with 15 points, hit a 3-pointer to complete the run and the announced crowd of 6,731 could start breathing easier again.
“We did start slow. It was kind of the same Thursday, a little slow start,” Brenchley said. “But I kinda knew coming into the game we would need more spark off the bench, more guys that needed to play, especially with Gabe (Madsen) being out. I knew I needed to, if my number was called, go compete.”
Speaking of Madsen, who will be out 4-6 weeks with a right foot injury, coach Craig Smith said there’s nothing new to report regarding a timeline for the sophomore’s return.
“Good athletes recover quickly, and Gabe’s a good athlete,” Smith said.
Lars Thiemann led Cal with 12 points, while Kuany Kuany added 11, but only two after his 3-pointer with 9:22 remaining in the first half gave the visitors the seven-point lead.
Smith said Utes guard Rollie Worster was switched over to guarding Kuany, with positive results. Worster added eight points and seven rebounds in 37 minutes.
“It feels good to get back on track,” Smith said. “What a game of beauty tonight, depending on your perspective. But at the end of the day, we took care of business.”
It wasn’t one of Utah’s better offensive performances — the Utes shot just 37% from the field and 32% (10 of 31) from 3-point range. Leading scorer Branden Carlson was 4 of 14 for 12 points, but grabbed 13 rebounds.
However, Utah’s defense showed up in a big way after Cal’s early lead, and the Utes took a 29-24 lead at halftime. Cal shot just 28.6% in the second half.
Having buried the Bears 58-43 in Berkeley on Dec. 29, Utah completed the season sweep with a similar defensive effort Sunday.
“I love how we guarded. I felt like we really, really guarded tonight and truly got back to who we are and what we are. I thought we made life very, very difficult for them on that end of the floor,” Smith said. “… We did a good job playing hard without fouling.”
Ben Carlson was 3 for 4 from 3-point range in one of his better offensive games of the year.
“Ben Carlson sticks three 3s. He has been working his you know what off, getting extra shots up in the gym. He has really been working hard at his game and I thought it showed,” Smith said.
Ben Carlson, who also had five rebounds, said his hard work paid off.
“I think just sticking with my shot, just being ready to shoot (made the difference),” he said. “I have been working on it a lot in the gym. I just felt like today they were going in and my teammates were getting me good looks.”
The Utes will now turn their attention to rival Colorado, which knocked off Stanford 84-62 Sunday in Boulder. However, that game won’t be until Saturday at the Huntsman Center, meaning the Utes have some time to regroup and refocus for the next six games, which could include five opportunities for Quad 1 wins.
“It was good to get back on the right side of the win-loss column, and hopefully we can carry some momentum here going into the bye week,” Smith said. “Honestly, we need a bye. It is kind of a weird year. We are (this late) in season and it is our first bye week. I mean, we need it.
We just gotta get our legs back under us, and get some recovery here as we go into the home stretch.”
It’s a home stretch that could be quite meaningful, particularly if the Utes keep taking care of business, like they did Sunday — after that uneasy start.