Utes break out of shooting slump in big way to beat Washington State for 12th straight time

SALT LAKE CITY — You knew sooner or later the ball was going to start going in the hoop for the Utah basketball team, which had shot under 40% in four of its six Pac-12 games and came into Saturday’s game ranked 11th in conference play in field-goal shooting at just 38.5%.

Not only did the Utes break out of their shooting slump, they did it in a big way with a 63% shooting night, propelling them to a 76-64 victory over Washington State at the Huntsman Center.

The victory was the second straight for the Utes, who beat Washington Thursday night, as they improved to 3-4 in league play and 12-7 on the season. The two wins have vaulted the Utes to eighth place after sitting in 12th place in the league standings at the start of the week.

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“It’s fun when you get on a roll and you see the ball going in,“ said Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak. “At the end of the day, that might be the most enjoyable part of the game — when you see shots go in, it energizes you.” 

Leading the way for the Utes was freshman guard Rylan Jones, who scored a game-high 24 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the field and was a perfect 6 of 6 from the free-throw line. Another freshman Mikael Jantunen made 7 of 9 shots on his way to a 16-point night, while freshman center Branden Carlson scored 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. Still another freshman, Jaxon Brenchley sank both of his 3-point attempts for six points. 

“We’ve shot a lot and put the time in,” Krystkowiak said. “It was miserable the other night (33%), but it was nice tonight for a number of guys. More importantly, I witnessed our guys making an extra pass, almost almost to a fault, we really shared the basketball (19 assists).”

For the Utes, it was their 12th straight win over Washington State, going back to 2014. But it wasn’t easy, as the Cougars are a much-improved team under new coach Kyle Smith.

They came into the game with three Pac-12 victories, including an 11-point win over No. 8 Oregon last week, and are in position to have their first winning season in over a decade at 12-9 after Saturday’s defeat.

Early on, the Cougars dominated, despite having their leading scorer, CJ Elleby on the bench with two quick fouls, both offensive. WSU led by as many as eight and were up 23-19 when the Utes, behind Jantunen and Carlson, went on an 18-2 run over the final six minutes of the half.

It looked like the Utes were going to cruise to another easy win against the Cougars, but WSU came out a little more motivated in the second half and behind Elleby, who sank three straight 3-pointers, and Issac Bonton, who made three baskets, Washington State suddenly led 43-42.

The lead didn’t last long as Jantunen scored on Utah’s next possession and then Both Gach scored on a drive, Jones sank a 3-pointer and Jantunen scored again to cap a 10-0 run. The Cougars hung around, but Jones put the dagger in, scoring 13 of Utah’s 15 points over a five-minute period.

Bonton led the Cougars with 21 points, followed by Jervae Robinson with 13 and Elleby with 12.

Besides Jones, Jantunen and Carlson in double figures, Timmy Allen scored 11 for the Utes and also had seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. 

Next up for the Utes is the LA swing, as they’ll play USC Thursday night and then play UCLA on Sunday afternoon. 

UTE NOTES: Utah has now beaten Washington State 17 straight times in Salt Lake, dating back to a 33-32 loss in 1946. ... This is the only regular-season meeting between the Utes and Cougars as the Utes don’t do the Washington road swing this year. ... Former Bountiful High standout Jeff Pollard started for the Cougars and finished with six points in 28 minutes. ... WSU freshman DJ Rodman is the son of former NBA star Dennis Rodman. He scored two points with one rebound and one assist in 18 minutes.