Barefield’s hot hand lifts Utah past Saint Mary’s to advance to NIT semis


Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is headed to “The Garden” in New York City.

The Utes needed overtime to pull out a 67-58 win over Saint Mary’s in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal round Wednesday to advance to the next round.

Utah junior Sedrick Barefield came alive in overtime, making three 3-pointers in extra time to give Utah some much-needed cushion to claim the victory of the higher-seeded Gaels. Barefield would finish the game with a team-high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from deep.

Saint Mary’s held a 7-point lead late in the game, following a 6-point performance by the Utes in the third quarter. But Utah weathered the run and chipped away at the Gaels’ lead to tie the game up following a pair of 3-pointers by Utah senior Tyler Rawson. Rawson finished the game with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from deep, and contributing seven rebounds in the win.

Utah was without senior center David Collette for the second half after tweaking his back. Collette played 14 minutes in the first half but was not available for the remainder of the game. Backup center Jayce Johnson, too, was absent late in the game after fouling out with just under 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Gaels outrebounded the Utes all night (40-26) in a lopsided battle of the board. But Utah finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line while keeping Saint Mary’s center, Jock Landale, quiet in overtime.

Utah will travel to New York City to take on Western Kentucky in the semifinals round of the NIT on Tuesday. The game will be played at Madison Square Garden.

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsUtah Utes
Josh is the Sports Director for KSL.com and beat writer covering University of Utah athletics — primarily football, men’s and women's basketball and gymnastics. He is also an Associated Press Top 25 voter for college football.

ARE YOU GAME?

From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast