SALT LAKE CITY — When Both Gach’s long 3-point attempt from the left angle bounced away at the buzzer, there was a collective groan from the crowd at the Huntsman Center Saturday afternoon.
But wait.
A foul had been called on Gach’s attempt and after the officials took a look to make sure the shot was taken in time — it had, with 0.6 seconds left — the Ute sophomore had a chance to hand the Utes an unlikely victory.
Gach calmly went to the line and made all three free throws to give the Utes a thrilling 74-72 victory in their regular season and home finale over Colorado.
The win was big for several reasons.
- It assured the Utes of a winning season as they improved to 16-14.
- It gave the Utes a 7-11 league record and a better seed in the next week’s Pac-12 Tournament, putting them in the first game, the No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed Wednesday at 1 p.m. MDT at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Utes will play Oregon State.
- It provided some much-needed confidence to a young team that would have headed to Vegas on a three-game losing streak with a loss.
- It kept alive any slim hopes they have of making the NIT Tournament, should they not win the Pac-12 tourney.
“Without him we wouldn’t have had a chance today. The last couple of games, he’s stepped up when the moment’s the biggest.” — Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak, on Both Gach
One thing’s for certain about Saturday’s victory: It wouldn’t have been possible without the outstanding play of Gach, who not only sank the game-winning free throws but also sent the game into overtime with a clutch jumper in the lane with 2.4 seconds left and finished with a career-high 28 points.
“Without him we wouldn’t have had a chance today,” said Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak. “The last couple of games, he’s stepped up when the moment’s the biggest.”
The 6-foot-6 guard from Minnesota had been in a terrible slump throughout much of the Pac-12 season before finding his rhythm, as well as his shot, in the last couple of games. He scored 19 points against Cal, taking over point guard duties for the injured Rylan Jones, and he scored a basket with two seconds left to force overtime in that game.
On Saturday, he finished with a stellar box score line of 28 points on 9 of 15 shooting, 8 of 9 from the free-throw line, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 42 minutes of action.
Of his game-winning free throws in the final second of overtime, he said he doesn’t get nervous and that “my mindset was just to make ‘em. That’s what I work for. If you’re confident in your game, you’re confident you’ll make them.”
There was some question, particularly on the Colorado side, whether Gach was actually fouled on the final shot. McKinley Wright IV, who led his team with 20 points and six assists, touched Gach with his legs as Gach came down from his shot.
This is how Gach described the final shot and foul afterward:
“I was just trying to jump as high as I could to get a shot off. I felt he knocked on my legs a little bit and didn’t let me land, so the ref made a good foul call, I felt.”
Krystkowiak was standing about five feet away from Gach when he fired up the shot, but he was noncommittal when asked about the call.
“It was right in my space. ... We were in the line of fire. Whether it was a foul or not, we’ve been on the other end of it where it hasn’t gone so well. Sometimes you catch some breaks at the defining moment.”
For Colorado, a team that has been in the national rankings most of the year, as high as No. 16, it was devastating loss — its fourth in a row — as it kept them from getting a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament. Although the Buffs are apparently a lock for the NCAA Tournament according to most experts, the defeat may have dropped them a notch or two in the upcoming brackets.
They were expected to win Saturday, particularly with the Utes starting point guard Jones out, still recovering from an apparent concussion suffered early in the Cal game a week earlier.
The Utes had been demolished by Colorado 91-52 in Boulder two months earlier and the Buffs came into the game with all sorts of motivation, to get off a three-game losing streak and to get their first-ever first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament with a victory.
At first, it looked much like the earlier game in Boulder as the Buffs sprinted out to a 10-point lead, eventually taking a 41-33 halftime lead.
The Utes regrouped at halftime and got back in the game with the first seven points of the second half and took their first lead at 47-46 on a Timmy Allen shot in the lane.
However, Colorado regrouped with a 9-0 run to take control, but the Utes wouldn’t go away and when Alfonso Plummer, who scored 21 points,
sank a 3-pointer with 2:30 left, it put the Utes on top 60-59. A three-point play by Tyler Bey put the Buffs ahead 64-62 with 19 seconds left, but Gach came through with his 10-footer to force overtime.
In overtime, the Utes went up by four early, but when Wright scored with 32 seconds left, Colorado led 72-70.
After a timeout, the Utes worked the ball into Allen, who was fouled with 9.2 seconds left, but he sank just the second of two free throws. Wright missed the front end of a one-and-one at the other end, setting up the final sequence.
The Utes will head down to Las Vegas Monday and practice at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday before their game on Wednesday.