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SALT LAKE CITY — There was no stopping Branden Carlson Sunday night.
Facing an 11-point deficit at the halftime break, after going down by 15 in the first half to Washington, the veteran center wasn't going to be denied his opportunity in the second half to give Utah a chance at a comeback.
Carlson hit multiple shots from deep and dominated in the post to help Utah erase a double-digit deficit to pull away for a 95-90 victory at the Huntsman Center on the last day of 2023.
"Tough win tonight — really proud of how we grinded it out," Utah head coach Craig Smith said. "It was — I'm not sure how to describe that game, I'm really not. But anytime you can get a sweep — obviously, you've got to take care of business at home — but there was just, I just don't even know how to describe that game. I'm really, really proud of our guys."
The South Jordan native finished with a game- and career-high 34 points, including three 3-pointers, seven rebounds and seven assists to will his team to victory over a tough Washington team looking for its first win of Pac-12 play.
Carlson scored 27 points in the second half to give Utah its eighth straight win, which is the Utes' second-longest win streak in the Pac-12 era.
"Obviously, Brandon Carlson really led us. ... When you get two career highs in points and assists you're doing something right, and we rode him," Smith said. "I mean, we played through him in every way in that second half. We didn't take him off the floor.
"We challenged Branden at halftime in a big time way, and boy did he respond. He owned it, and our guys played through him, and our guys have all the belief in the world and what he can do and what he does do. And that's what the great ones do."
Utah (11-2, 2-0 Pac-12) needed the extra effort from Carlson after seeing an 11-point lead of their own evaporate in the first half on a 23-2 run by Washington (8-5, 0-2 Pac-12) to eventually take a 15-point lead. The Utes struggled to find a rhythm after being called for 12 first-half fouls and allowed the whistle to dictate the terms of the game.
"With officiating, whether you agree or disagree, they have a very difficult job, and they've gotta call to the best that they can," Smith said. "And we've got to be able to adjust and control it the way that we need to control. I lost my poise; I need to be better for our guys. I thought our guys lost their focus and were distracted."
To add to that, Utah committed eight turnovers and allowed Washington to earn 11 fast break points.
Washington's Keion Brooks Jr. took advantage of the whistles and finished 8-of-9 from the free-throw line en route to a 25-point performance to lead the Huskies. Brooks was key to Washington's run but got into foul trouble in the second half to nullify much of his impact late.
Koren Johnson added 17 points and Wilhelm Breidenbach finished with 15 points for Washington in the losing effort.
For Utah, Rollie Worster finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Gabe Madsen and Cole Bajema — who was playing his former team for the first time — each added 11 points. Madsen's three 3-pointers helped add to Utah's second-half effort to spur the comeback.
With the win, Utah finished the month of December undefeated, which is the first time since the 1997-98 season.
