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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah picked the wrong time to turn the ball over — and over and over.
The Utes committed two costly turnovers in the final minute of the game and four in the final two minutes, only to see Washington pull away for an 83-79 win in a Sunday afternoon contest on the back end of Utah's two-game road trip to the state of Washington.
Utah's Riley Battin, who finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, threw up a last-ditch effort 3-pointer with 5 seconds left, but the shot was too strong and hit the back of the rim before bouncing out and into Washington's (3-11, 2-7 Pac-12) Jamal Bey's hands.
All Utah (6-7, 3-6 Pac-12) could do was foul, but the damage was done as the Utes fell to a team that had won only two games prior to Sunday.
"We just gotta be better, top down, take care of the ball — simple message," said junior Timmy Allen, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. "Not much you can say after a loss like that."
In total, Utah committed 16 turnovers in the game. That translated to 22 points on the other end for Washington, including 14 in the second half.
"We let it slip away from us," Allen said. "A couple careless turnovers at the end, but a lot of plays before that could have changed the game. We've just got to be better all around."
Washington used a 7-0 run in the final 1:17 of regulation that was led by a dominant Bey, who finished with 28 points to lead all scores. The unstoppable guard had only 10 points in the first half, but went 6-of-7 from the field, including two 3-pointers, to finish the second half with 18 points.
Quade Green, who had only 5 points in the first half, finished with 20 points to add to Washington's assault against Utah in the second half.
Branden Carlson, coming off a strong game Thursday win over Washington State, repeated his performance with a career day Sunday. The sophomore center led Utah with 18 points, including a top-of-the-key 3-pointer late in the game, and five rebounds. But Carlson was forced to leave the game early in the first half after getting in foul trouble with two fouls.
Carlson joined Rylan Jones and Ian Martinez as the two other Utes with two fouls in the first half, forcing a shift in defense by Utah.
Utah built up a 12-point lead with just under 5 minutes to play in the first half following a 16-2 run that stretched nearly five minutes. But the floodgates opened for the Huskies, who then reeled off four consecutive 3-pointers to cut Utah's lead to five when the Utes got in foul trouble.
But the scoring didn't stop for the Huskies, who managed to tie up the game with another made 3-pointer — its sixth triple in the half — with 37 seconds left in the half. Battin, who came off the bench and had 13 first-half points for the Utes, stopped the bleeding and drilled a 3-pointer of his own to give the Utes a 3-point lead into the break.
Erik Stevenson and Bey combined for 22 points and three of Washington's six first-half 3-pointers to lead the Huskies in their late-half push.
Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak, who was noticeably upset by the loss to a sub-200 team in the NCAA's NET rankings following the game, said it all came down to "bad coaching" and putting his team in a position to succeed.
Utah will look to bounce back next Saturday at Colorado. The game will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
