Utah knew how to host a blowout party in its regular-season home finale, cruising to victory over Cal 88-59 at the Huntsman Center on Saturday night.
3 takeaways
Top performers: Branden Carlson had himself a game worth remembering on Senior Night, finishing with 30 points while shooting 12 of 17 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
He also had 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Deivon Smith, too, was sharp. The Utes point guard put up 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals as Utah had three players in double-figures.
Jalen Cone paced the Cal effort with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Key stretch: While Cal spent a good amount of time keeping itself within striking distance, the Utes went on a 7-0 run over a three-minute stretch to push their lead up to 58-41 with 11:56 remaining.
Lawson Lovering started the run with a dunk, Carlson added his fourth 3-pointer and Gabe Madsen followed up a Carlson block on one end with a driving layup that forced Golden Bears coach Mark Madsen to call timeout.
Utah added an 11-2 run later to push the lead out to a then-game high 27 points heading into the contest’s final five minutes.
Key stats: The Utes dominated the boards, ending the night with a 47-29 advantage. Utah had an 13-7 edge in offensive rebounds and outscored the Golden Bears 15-2 in second-chance points.
Utah completed that lane domination with 40-26 edge in points in the paint.
The Utes also shot 50.8% from the floor, including 58.6% in the second half, while holding Cal to 34.4%.
What’s next?
The Utes (18-11, 9-9 Pac-12) will hit the road for the final week of the regular season, with games at Oregon State next Thursday (9 p.m. MST, ESPNU) and Oregon next Saturday (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
Utah beat both the Beavers and Ducks when they played in Salt Lake City back in mid-January.