Branden Carlson's late tip-in lifts Runnin' Utes to 70-69 win over Bruins

LOS ANGELES — Making shots came at a premium Sunday night at Pauley Pavilion.

But the very last one was all that mattered.

With 6.6 seconds left in the game and Utah trailing 69-68, Deivon Smith got the ball at the center of the court and went hard to the rim. His attempted layup went too high and hit the top of the backboard and down into the hands of Branden Carlson, who got the tip-in bucket to claim a 70-69 win.

And with that made basket, Utah finally ended a 10-game losing skid in road conference games, dating back to the 2022-23 season.

"We ran a play called world's greatest play, and our guys ran it to perfection," Utah head coach Craig Smith said. "We just had such poise.

"I'm really proud of our guys. We really played with a lot of poise and composure. It could have been a lot different. We've had three of our last four games that have come down to the last possession. Our guys, I felt tonight, got over the hump. This was huge. UCLA has really been playing the best basketball in the conference lately, so this was a huge win for us on the road."

Carlson finished with a team-high 17-points, including four 3-pointers, and seven rebounds, but his final shot was the money shot. Smith added 17 points, 10 assists and four rebounds in the win, but was pivotal down the stretch in helping Utah erase a one-time 7-point UCLA lead.

Gabe Madsen and Cole Bajema both ended with 11 points apiece, with Bajema making three 3-pointers on a night when Utah shot 42% from the field.

At one point in the first half, Utah shot 25% from the floor in the first half on a poor-shooting night before fighting back to take a 2-point deficit into the halftime break. Utah shot 50% in the second half to aid the comeback against a Bruins team that also improved its shooting in the second half to 40% for the game.

Each time Utah made a run and took a one-possession lead, UCLA went on a quick run to put distance over the visiting team. But Utah refused to back down and found a way at the end to get the win.

Former Utah guard Lazar Stefanovic managed a season- and team-high 19 points to pace UCLA to a lead, but was held scoreless in the final 10 minutes of the game.

"It feels horrible," Stefanovic said. "I don't know exactly how to explain it, but it feels horrible. We had the game in our hand before that, so it doesn't always work. It came down to the last play, but you can count 20 plays down the stretch that we didn't make, that we could have made, that would have made a difference. We've got to learn from it, we've got to get better; but yeah, it feels horrible."

Outside of Stefanovic, UCLA added 15 points from Dylan Andrews, including a pivotal jumper over Carlson with 6.6 seconds left in regulation to give UCLA a 69-68 lead.

"Andrews has been playing at such a high level," Smith said. "He's been averaging 17 points per game in his last five contests. We did a good job on him until UCLA's last play when he stuck it."

But Carlson got the last laugh in the end.

Earlier in the game, Carlson had to leave for a few minutes after Sebastian Mack sent a forearm into Carlson's neck on a screen. The intentional foul was reviewed and eventually deemed a Flagrant 2 with an ejection.

Related topics