Utah had momentum heading into its matchup with UCF at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando Sunday.
The Runnin’ Utes were coming off back-to-back victories over Kansas and Kansas State, arguably Utah’s best stretch in its young Big 12 history.
Sunday, though, the momentum didn’t carry over, as the Utes lost a heartbreaker, 76-72.
Give the Knights credit. UCF (14-13, 5-11 Big 12) snapped a seven-game losing streak by executing better in the second half, including during the final seconds, and forcing Utah into 19 turnovers.
The Utes (15-12, 7-9 Big 12), meanwhile, were left to lament a golden opportunity for a road win, even if the execution was far from perfect.
“We kept fighting, and we’ve been finding ways to win these types of games,” Utah coach Craig Smith said in his postgame interview on 700 AM.
“You know, one stop and we force overtime, and all of a sudden you have some mojo. I felt like we had a good look, and we kept fighting, but at the end of the day, man those turnovers, they got us and just not enough stops.”
Utah, which trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half after giving up a 16-3 run, managed to tie the game with 11.1 seconds remaining on a Gabe Madsen 3-pointer, his fifth 3 of the game.
It was a bit of a chaotic possession. Moments after Keyshawn Hall attacked the paint and got a high-arching shot to drop in the lane over Lawson Lovering, giving UCF a 72-69 lead, the Utes searched for an equalizer outside the arc.
First, Madsen got a 3-point shot up as he rolled off a screen at the top of the key, but that shot was long. Mike Sharavjamts got the offensive rebound in the lane, took a couple of dribbles and passed back out to Madsen outside the 3-point line.
Madsen and Sharavjamts then traded passes as they faked out a trio of UCF defenders before Madsen found himself open for a 3-point attempt that found the bottom of the net, tying the game at 72-72.
This came after Utah had used a 12-3 run to make it a one-possession contest, setting up a frenetic final minute Utah’s defense, though, wasn’t crisp on the ensuing possession.
That was an issue that plagued the Utes in the second half, as UCF shot 56.7% in the final 20 minutes.
“Our zone (defense) got us enough stops to kind of keep us in the game, because just defensively in the second half, we’re not where we needed to be,” Smith said.
With the game tied and the Knights inbounding the ball from the sideline on the offensive end, Darius Johnson took the inbounds pass a few feet from midcourt, then worked his way past Ezra Ausar, moved under the hoop and nailed a reverse layup to give UCF the lead back with 2.8 seconds to play.
Smith said Utah’s team defense failed on that final play, leading to a breakdown that ended with Johnson’s winning layup.
“This happens a lot to teams. When you’ve got to get one stop, nobody wants to get scored on,” Smith said.
The Utes’ plan was to force Johnson to his left hand, but it didn’t happen.
“He is clearly much better scoring the ball to his right hand than his left hand,” the Utah coach said. “... We’re supposed to switch that, take away his right hand, force him back to the left, and there’s all kinds of help to the left, because that’s where the guy just set the screen and we let him get to his right hand, and when he gets to his right hand, he’s a lethal finisher.”
Ausar then rushed the inbounds pass, throwing behind Madsen as the ball hit off Madsen’s hand and out of bounds, giving possession back to UCF.
Utah’s 19th turnover of the night then turned into two free throws to cap the Knights victory.
“Some of those turnovers were just like, ‘Guys, what planet are we on right now?’ It was just so puzzling, because literally, the last four games, we’ve been really good about taking care of it, tightening it up,” Smith said.
Those 19 Utah turnovers were costly, especially when considering UCF gave it up only eight times. The Knights, as a result, owned a 20-8 edge in points off turnovers.
Simply put, UCF just had more offensive opportunities, thanks to their hustle. The Knights shot 10 more field goal attempts than Utah, helping to counterbalance the fact that the Utes actually outshot UCF 50.9% to 44.6% and made two more 3-pointers (eight to six) than the home team.
UCF, though, was 12 of 16 from the free-throw line, while Utah was 8 of 10.
The Knights’ bench also had a much bigger impact in the game. UCF outscored Utah 33-4 in bench points, as the Utes only got two points each from Keanu Dawes and Zach Keller outside of their starters.
“Our starting lineup was really good all night. Our bench, we got absolutely zero out of our bench,” Smith said. “I mean, we got nothing out of our bench, and that’s every guy, and it was sometimes just searching for a spark.
“... If we’ve got to play our starters, you know, 38 minutes, then that’s what we’ve got to do,” Smith added, while being critical of the 12 offensive rebounds Utah gave up.
Jordan Ivy-Curry (12 points) and Dallan Coleman (10) each scored in double-figures coming off the bench for UCF, joining solid games from center Moustapha Thiam (18 points, nine rebounds), Johnson (12 points, five assists, three rebounds) and Hall (11 points, three rebounds, two assists).
In the first half, Utah marched out to a 15-4 lead, only to go 5 ½ minutes between points as UCF trimmed that lead to two, then extended that to a 20-4 run as the Knights went ahead 24-19.
While Utah managed to make it 30-29 going into halftime and pushed ahead 43-38 5 ½ minutes into the second half, UCF’s next big run — a 16-3 one over nearly five minutes — made it 63-52 and forced the Utes to play from behind down the stretch.
“In some ways, it’s like, how are we even in this game?” Smith asked, almost retrospectively.
Utah’s Madsen, Sharavjamts and Ausar were the driving force behind keeping the Utes in it down the stretch. Madsen made four second-half 3-pointers — 20 of his game-high 23 points came after halftime — and he added three rebounds, an assist and a steal while turning it over just once.
Sharavjamts scored 15 points — his first double-digit scoring game since Feb. 1 — and also had six of Utah’s 18 assists while adding four rebounds.
His aggressiveness offensively was a welcome sign. That included him giving Utah its last lead at 49-47 on a dunk, and his layup with 1:39 to play made it 68-67, showing a willingness for the 6-foot-9 junior to take meaningful shots.
Ausar, too, had his moments outside of that damaging last-second turnover, his fourth giveaway of the game. He scored 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting — he had seven points for Utah in a late 12-3 run that cut it to a one-possession game — and added six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
In the end, though, the turnovers and lack of execution were too much to overcome, as Utah must turn things around fast before facing No. 19 Arizona in Tucson on Wednesday.
“We’ve gotta get home, regroup, watch some film, get better, challenge our guys,” Smith said. “We’ve gotta get more production out of our bench. Bottom line, our starting lineup has been very good. ... When those five guys are on the floor together, there’s a real rhythm and timing to what we’re doing, I think a purpose.
“Our bench has been pretty good most of the year, and we got to get more production out of those guys. Whatever that means, we’ve got to be able to figure it out. We’re gonna have to play really good basketball at McKale (Center against Arizona).”