While Pac-12 loss stings Utah, Utes stay optimistic — ‘We stayed the course. Never gave in.’

LAS VEGAS — As it turns out, the Utah basketball team wouldn’t have been playing Thursday and beyond anyway, because the Pac-12 Tournament was canceled like every other major college basketball tournament in the country, including the NCAA Tournament.

Still, the Utes won’t soon forget the stinging loss Wednesday in the first and only round of the Pac-12 Tournament when they fell to Oregon State on a 3-point shot with 1.8 seconds left.

“We stayed the course. Never gave in. Never gave up. Just together.” — Utah sophomore forward Timmy Allen

The Utes had led the majority of the game thanks to the superb play of junior guard Alfonso Plummer, who poured in more than half of his team’s tally with 35 points thanks to a school-record 11 3-pointers on 16 attempts.

He had put the Utes up 69-65 with just a little over a minute left, but OSU freshman Jarod Lucas broke their hearts with a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute.

Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said he was “proud of the resolve and fight with our guys” and the way his team outrebounded the Beavers 33-20. However, he also lamented their 17 turnovers and an offense that stagnated in the second half against the Beavers’ 1-3-1 zone. 

“Our guys played really well in the first half, had an eight-point lead and came in and extended that, and then we got stagnant with turnovers,” he said. “We still had open looks ... they didn’t go in for us, and give credit to Oregon State for rallying behind that 1-3-1.”

After the game, Krystkowiak talked about the possibility of his team playing in the NIT next week, saying, “If we can garner some experience from being in an NIT tournament because we weren’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament, then we’d love it.” However, with the coronavirus crisis shutting down sporting events all over the country this week, including the NCAA Tournament, that became a moot point.

Despite the abrupt conclusion to the season, they finish with a winning record of 16-15 with the memories of big victories over Minnesota, BYU and Kentucky in the nonconference season and wins over USC and Colorado in Pac-12 play. Utah was also an impressive 12-2 at home this season.

“We stayed the course. Never gave in. Never gave up. Just together,” said sophomore forward Timmy Allen, who led the team in scoring and rebounding this season.

Krystkowiak said he enjoyed coaching this year as much as he ever has and credits that to the players in the program.

“It’s as positive of a culture that we’ve had at Utah and we’ve got a number of young kids,” said Krystkowiak. 

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The Utes were the second-youngest team in the country this year and barring transfers, everybody will be back for next season along with some top recruits.

“I feel like we can do something special,” said sophomore Both Gach, “Our coach keeps saying we’ve got a young team, we stay the course, continue to get better, and I just feel like we can make something happen in the long run.”