Utah blows 17-point lead in loss to Mississippi State

One recurring problem for the Utah basketball team this season has been holding on to big leads.

It happened again Saturday night at the Delta Center in the Salt Lake Showcase, where the Runnin’ Utes blew a 17-point lead and lost 82-74 to Mississippi State.

With the loss, the Utes fell to 7-4 on the season, while Mississippi State improved to 5-5.

Utah first-year coach Alex Jensen was back in familiar surroundings at the arena, where he was an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz. For much of the game it looked to be a successful homecoming for Jensen as he watched his team play one of its best halves of season in racing to a 10-point halftime lead.

However, the Bulldogs put together a 15-0 run in the middle of the second half and held on for the victory.

“You know, that’s happened multiple times this season where we’ve gotten a double-digit lead,” Jensen said. “We tend to get a little lackadaisical and not patient offensively and we end up dribbling and taking early shots. It’s kind of a maturity level for us as a group, as a team.” 

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Another problem was Utah’s defense, as Mississippi State reserve guard Ja’Borri McGhee, whose previous career-high was 17, exploded for 29 points off the bench, including nine straight during the 15-0 run.

“You know, you gotta guard your guy,” Jensen said. “They had 22 points off turnovers and 46 points in the paint.”

Led by guard Don McHenry, who finished with a season-high 29 points, the Utes took a 17-point lead late in the first half, finishing with 56% shooting, including 60% from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs struggled with just 2 of 10 shooting from long range.

McHenry hit two quick 3-pointers early in the second half as the Utes built the lead back to 15, but over a four-minute stretch, the Bulldogs scored 15 straight points as the Utes got hesitant offensively and forced up some poor shots.

Utah regained the lead at 70-67, but back-to-back turnovers led to Mississippi State baskets and the Utes never led again.

Besides McHenry, the Utes got 20 points from leading scorer Terrance Brown, but little else as Keanu Dawes was well below his season averages with seven points and three rebounds.

Despite the loss, Jensen feels his team is making progress in nonconference play.

“I think we’re making strides,” he said. “A lot of our guys have made strides and we have to be patient.”

The Utes were shorthanded, as guard Elijah “Choppa” Moore has left the program and guard Jacob Patrick told Jensen he couldn’t play, just before gametime.

Utah has a week off before playing Eastern Washington Saturday at the Huntsman Center. The Utes’ final non-conference game will be Dec. 29 at Washington in Seattle before starting up Big 12 play Jan. 3 at home against Arizona.

Scott Padgett, who played for Kentucky against Jensen in the 1998 NCAA Championship game, is an assistant coach for Mississippi State, which has beaten Utah all four times the two have played and all have come on neutral courts.

Last year the Bulldogs won 78-73 in Southaven, Mississippi. The Utes’ game Saturday was the nightcap of a tripleheader at the Delta Center that saw Utah Valley beat UC-Santa Barbara 68-53 and Utah State defeat Illinois State 83-78.