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SALT LAKE CITY — For Jason Washburn, Cedric Martin and Jarred DuBois, Saturday afternoon's matchup with No. 19 Oregon was the last chance they would have to play a game on the Jon M. Huntsman Center floor.
The trio made the most of it.
On Utah's first possession, DuBois found Washburn with a lob inside for an easy layup. Shortly after that, DuBois stole the ball from Oregon senior Tony Woods and then found Martin for the fast break score to put Utah up 9-0.
And the upset bid was on.
The Runnin' Utes managed to keep the energy going and hold onto their lead, coming away with a wire-to-wire 72-62 victory over the nationally ranked Ducks.
"We came out aggressive and showed a lot of energy," Martin said. "We pressured them on defense, made shots and the crowd got into it, which got the adrenaline going, and we played off of that."
Washburn's 20 points and 13 rebounds led the Utes to claiming back-to-back wins in Pac-12 play for the first time since joining the conference last season. DuBois scored 15 points with five assists and five boards, while Martin chipped in with five points and three dimes in addition to playing his usual lights-out defense.
It wasn't only the seniors getting it done. Freshmen Jordan Loveridge and Brandon Taylor were big for Utah as well, posting 14 points and three assists apiece, with Loveridge also grabbing seven boards and making three steals.
I couldn't have scripted it any better for the way it ended here. Our seniors came out all fired up, and I think our young guys did too. They wanted this win just as badly as we did.
–Jason Washburn
"I couldn't have scripted it any better for the way it ended here," said Washburn. "Our seniors came out all fired up, and I think our young guys did too. They wanted this win just as badly as we did."
The Ducks fought back from their early deficit to get within one after freshman guard Dominic Artis nailed a 3-pointer to make it 21-20 at the 11:31 mark.
But the Utes responded with another 9-0 run, ignited by a big shot from beyond the arc by Martin.
Utah then ended the half on a 10-2 run, capped by a Washburn tip-in And-1, to take a 44-30 lead into the break.
The Utes' largest lead came early in the second period after another And-1 from Washburn made it a 47-30 game.
Oregon continued to battle, getting within single digits again after a 10-2 run made it 49-40 with 14:46 left.
But the Ducks never got closer than six beyond that point, and Washburn dribbled out the final seconds of the clock before embracing DuBois and Martin at center court.
"We made plays at the right time," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We finished the half off on the right note. We were a little bit shaky coming out of halftime; they put us on our heels. But we have a really resilient group that fought back and made some plays. This was probably the most physical we have played since we were back in Eugene, which is why (Oregon) has won a lot of games."
Speaking of that game at Oregon on Feb. 9 — the Utes suffered their worst rebounding deficit of the season in that contest, getting out-rebounded by 21 en route to a 73-64 loss.
Krystkowiak was pleased with the effort on the boards this time around, as Utah pulled down 31 rebounds to Oregon's 28.
"Last time we played Oregon, we got beat on the glass 41-19, so it didn't take a lot of motivation for our guys to know that is where it was going to happen," he said. "We met that challenge. When I watched the Stanford game last week I realized we weren't playing hard enough. We had three really good days of practice playing smash-mouth basketball and I thought that really showed in the wins this weekend."
Senior forward E.J. Singler led Oregon (23-8, 12-6) with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Woods added 13 points, six boards and three blocked shots.
The Oregon loss gives UCLA sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, leaving the Ducks in a three-way tie for second place with Cal and Arizona.
Utah (13-17, 5-13) clinches the No. 10 spot in the Pac-12 with the win, climbing up one spot from where it finished last year. The Utes also claimed two more league victories than they did last season — in a much improved Pac-12 conference — while more than doubling last season's overall win total.
In addition, it marked the first Ute victory over a ranked opponent since a 60-58 buzzer-beating win over No. 20 Illinois on Nov. 27, 2009.
"We took down a giant and a top-25 team, and it couldn't have been done in a more spectacular fashion," Washburn said.
The Utes aren't finished yet, though, as they look to carry this momentum into the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas next week.
As the No. 10 seed in the conference, Utah will face the No. 7 seed in the first round. The standings now indicate a possible four-way tie for sixth place amongst Arizona State, USC, Stanford and Washington, with USC's final regular season contest still pending. When the dust settles, the Utes will have a better idea concerning which of those four teams they will play.
"I think the key for us is to take a page out of what we have done the last couple games and use that in Vegas to capture some of that energy," said Krystkowiak. "We are significantly further ahead than we were a year ago. I feel like things are clicking and we have many options. The guys are playing together and moving into the next phase. We still have a long way to go, but it would be crazy to say we are not a bit better."
Whoever they end up facing, the Pac-12 tournament gets started on Wednesday.
"Our real goal is to keep this streak going in Vegas and go as far as possible," Martin said.
Tyson Maddy has covered the University of Utah football and men's basketball teams as a contributing writer for KSL.com Sports since 2011. Follow his Utes coverage on twitter @Tyson_Maddy
