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SALT LAKE CITY ā In an off night for offensive play-making in the first half, Utah managed a 69-64 win over the visiting Tulsa Golden Hurricane Saturday at the Huntsman Center.
After a low-scoring first half for both teams, Utah junior Sedrick Barefield took over the game and scored all of his 15 points in the second half to pace Utah to a win. Barefield made four 3-pointers in a 46-point second half for the Utes, but Tulsa kept the game close and cut Utah's lead to 3 points with just under 7 minutes to play.
Utah, though, fought off the Tulsa surge and made late-game free throws to seal a much-needed victory for a program struggling for wins.
"It was a grind, and after this game, we realize that the rest of the season will be a grind, too," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We made a couple plays in the second half that helped us come out on top."
The Runninā Utes finished the first half shooting 35 percent on 9-of-26 shooting from the field and missed nine of their first 11 shots. Tulsa, though, wasnāt any better and shot 26 percent on 8-of-31 shooting from the field and missed all 15 attempts at 3-pointers in the first half.
Utah finished the game shooting 42 percent, while Tulsa finished the game shooting 36 percent as Tulsa outscored the Utes 47-46 in the second half.
"Itās just one of those games that we have seen before," Krystkowiak said. "Things were really difficult in the first half, but we came out of the locker room in the second half as a different team."
Utah freshman Both Gach, who earned a starting role Saturday, added 15 points of his own on 4-of-8 shooting in the win. And Utah forward Jayce Johnson finished with the teamās only double-double on the night, scoring 12 points while bringing down 12 rebounds in a strong showing from the junior.
Tulsa's Jeriah Horne scored 15 points in the loss, and Sterling Taplin added 12 points to lead the Golden Hurricane.
The Runninā Utes improve to 4-3 on the season and will face in-state rival BYU Sat., Dec. 8 in the annual Beehive Classic at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
