Utah’s Big 12 tournament loss to Cincinnati had a familiar feel and result

In a lot of ways, Utah’s 32nd game of Alex Jensen’s first season as Runnin’ Utes men’s basketball coach looked a lot like the previous 31.

The Utes, try as they might, were undone again by a long stretch where the opponent took charge.

This time, Utah (10-22) ultimately couldn’t overcome an 11-plus minute stretch in the first half where it made just 2 of 21 field goals to end the half.

That played a big role in a 73-66 loss to Cincinnati in the first round of the Big 12 tournament Tuesday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, even after Utah executed much better on offense in the second half and had a chance to make it a one-score game in the final minute.

“Happy our guys fought and came back,” Jensen said. “Give (Bearcats coach) Wes (Miller) and Cincinnati credit; they made good adjustments, good game plan. Unfortunate, but I’m happy that our guys fought, came out — we played really good for 15 minutes, had some lulls, but we fought and came back. So, proud of them.”

The Bearcats (18-14), who also were cold offensively in the first half, eventually used a 12-0 run, sparked by their pressure defense and some timely rebounding, to turn a 20-17 deficit into a 29-20 halftime lead, and from there, Utah never led again.

The Utes didn’t go away, despite trailing by as many as 15 points in the second half.

Utah’s rally, led by leading scorer Terrence Brown, pulled the Utes within four points on two different occasions in the final 1:05, but that’s as close as Utah could get in falling during the Big 12 tournament’s first round for a second straight year.

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For a while, it looked like the Utes might have a chance to land a fatal blow to Cincinnati’s NCAA Tournament hopes. Utah jumped out to a 15-6 lead eight minutes into the game, a stark contrast to the Utes’ two games last week when they fell behind by 20-plus in the first half both times.

Over the final 11:40 of the first half, though, Utah was outscored 23-5, including a 12-0 stretch during the last 2:53 as Cincinnati’s defensive pressure led to offensive opportunities in what had been a defensive slugfest to that point.

“Our best offense is when our defense leads the offense. In that stretch, defense led the offense. We got stuff in the open court,” Miller said.

Utah’s 19.4% shooting effort in the first half was a season-low, as was the Utes’ 20 points at the break.

The Utes’ top two scorers, Brown and Don McHenry, couldn’t find a rhythm offensively, as they went a combined 1 for 13 from the field before the half, and no Utah player hit more than one field goal in the opening 20 minutes.

Cincinnati, conversely, shot 38.7% in the opening 20 minutes, thanks to making 6 of 8 to end the half.

Then, the offensive floodgates opened in the second half.

Both teams shot over 50% after the break — Utah at 54.8% and Cincinnati at 51.7%.

“I think we simplified it, and I think guys were aggressive,” Jensen said about why his offense was more successful in the second half. “... I think we were more aggressive just coming down and trying to score off our defense in transition, and it’s a lot easier to do that when you’re down, nothing to lose.”

It resulted in an entertaining contest that wasn’t decided until the final minute, as the Bearcats, who only hit 10 of 18 free throws, managed to make five in the final minute to fend off Utah.

To the Utes’ credit, they didn’t go away after falling behind by 15 at 48-33.

Instead, Utah stayed competitive, as it has done many times this year, despite its record.

Brown scored nine straight points for Utah in one stretch, helping the Utes pull back within two possessions with a little over three minutes to play.

Jalen Celestine, who led the Bearcats with 19 points, made his biggest shot of the game with 3:16 left, when his fifth 3 of the day pushed Cincinnati’s lead back out to eight points.

Utah managed to make it a four-point game at 68-64 when Keanu Dawes capitalized on an and-one, and after two Bearcats free throws, McHenry hit a long jumper to make it 70-66 with 42 seconds to play.

For a moment, it looked as if Utah might have cut it to three points with a 3, but McHenry’s toe was on the line, and that forced the Utes to foul.

Cincinnati wrapped up the win with three free throws in its final two possessions.

It was the sixth straight loss for Utah, who was led by Brown. He had 22 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals in the loss with just one turnover, while shooting 7 of 19.

Brown scored 15 of his points in the second half.

“I don’t want to be done. Like, (I had) the mindset that I didn’t want to be done playing. That’s really what I was saying,” Brown said. “When I hit one of the shots and we went into timeout, I was just like, I don’t want to lose. That’s what I was telling coach, I don’t want to lose. That’s really all I was playing for, was just not to lose.”

Seydou Traore (12 points) and Dawes (15 points, 12 rebounds) also scored in double-figures in the second half, with 10 and 12, respectively, as Utah kept most of the statistical categories close.

“I just think we had more intensity and kind of more energy (in the second half),” Dawes said. “... You come into every game not wanting to lose, but whenever you go into halftime down, you come out with more energy and more attentive to the little things.”

The Bearcats edged Utah, though, in paint points (28-22), bench points (18-7), second-chance points (14-10), rebounds (40-37) and assists (15-10), proving to do enough of the little things to hand Utah its 22nd loss of the year.

In addition to the 19 points from Celestine, Moustapha Thiam (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Baba Miller (11 points, 14 rebounds) both had double-doubles for the Bearcats.

The loss turns the outlook to the future for Utah, as Jensen and his staff focus on their second year together. On April 7, the 15-day transfer portal window will open, and while several Utes could stick around, there will be many new faces next year.

“It’s always hard when it comes to an end. Give them a day off, and then we’ll meet as a team and then individually with each one of them and then go from there,” Jensen said.