Runnin' Utes defense limits Buffaloes as Utah pulls away for 73-62 win at home

SALT LAKE CITY — Every game matters down the final stretch of the regular season, especially one in which Utah's final six games come against teams ranked in the top half of the Pac-12.

Fortunately for Utah, the first game was a good way to start that final stretch.

Utah controlled a 6-point halftime lead that it then built up to an 18-point lead midway through the second half en route to a 73-62 win at home over Colorado on Saturday night. While not perfect at times, Utah controlled the game from the opening tip and never gave in to the Buffaloes' multiple attempts to get back into the game.

With the win, Utah (17-9, 10-5 Pac-12) moves into sole possession of third place in the conference standings and just a game behind Arizona, who was upset by Stanford minutes before Utah and Colorado tipped off.

"It's a great win for the Runnin' Utes," Utah head coach Craig Smith said. "I thought we played a really good basketball game most of the night. I'd like to finish the game off better, but I thought we had a great mindset. We had a great week of practice this week."

The Runnin' Utes were benefitted most from the inside-out play of Branden Carlson, who drew multiple defenders under the rim each time he touched the ball. If he couldn't split the defense, which he did many times, he was able to kick it out for open looks from 3-point range.

And his teammates obliged to hit six 3-pointers to keep Colorado (14-12, 6-9 Pac-12) honest. It wasn't a full-on shooting barrage, but it was enough to keep Colorado at bay.

Carlson finished with a team-high 17 points on a night where the team shot 49% from the field. But the biggest highlight of the night from the veteran center came when he blocked a shot on defense and then had a give-and-go flying dunk on the other end to showcase his dominance on the court.

Marco Anthony added 17 points and eight rebounds in the win, but was instrumental in Utah's ability to limit Colorado sharpshooter Tristan da Silva, who has averaged 23.4 points per game over his last five games. Anthony limited da Silva to only 6 points on 3-of-12 shooting, which is his lowest production since a 4-point outing in the second game of the season against Grambling State.

"This dude's got an elite touch around the basket. ... But to hold him to 6 points on the tear he's been on was outstanding," Smith said. "Marco guarded him most of the night. Obviously, we brought a double to him when he was in the post, and our guys executed really well."

"I just knew I had to bring my A-game on the defensive end especially, and I was able to do what I did, and that ended up helping us win this game," Anthony added.

Utah was also able to limit Colorado's second-leading scorer in KJ Simpson to 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Simpson finished as the team's leading scorer, but Smith said he was pleased with his team's effort to force the "dynamic" guard into 13 field goal attempts for him to get his points.

"To be able to just kind of keep those two guys in check when they account for 49% of their offense in league play, credit our guys for really doing their part that way," Smith said.

Utah got some good minutes out of Ben Carlson and Keba Keita, too, which helped keep Branden Carlson fresh and the rotations moving along. Ben Carlson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in the win, but Smith said the former Wisconsin transfer is playing with more confidence as of late to help impact the team.

In just 10 minutes of play, Keita finished with 8 points and five rebounds. But more importantly, he impacted the game in the post with a big body and his ability to swat away lazy Colorado passes.

It all led to Utah having a productive night against a high-tempo team that likes to get out and run in transition. Utah outrebounded Colorado 41-29 to keep the Buffaloes from getting too many second-chance opportunities.

At the end of the game, all Colorado could do was attempt a fullcourt press on Utah in hopes they'd make an error. But Utah had no problem beating the press and continued to stay above the visiting team. Colorado made its run, but it was too little, too late.

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