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- Mississippi State defeated Utah 82-74 in the Salt Lake Showcase.
- The Bulldogs' 20-2 run erased Utah's 17-point lead in the second half.
- Utah's Don McHenry scored 29 points but couldn't secure the win.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's Don McHenry seemingly couldn't miss Saturday night.
Over a two-minute span midway through the first half, the fifth-year senior made three consecutive free throws, back-to-back 3-pointers, and picked off a Mississippi State player and took it coast-to-coast for a transition layup to cap off a personal 11-0 run to give the Utes a 12-point lead.
His 15-point first half helped propel the Runnin' Utes to a game-high 17-point lead on a much-improved team effort on both ends of the floor against an SEC opponent.
McHenry added to his total with another pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second half en route to a 29-point performance on the night, but the effort wasn't good enough for the Utes in the end.
The Bulldogs used a 20-2 run over a four-minute period to erase an otherwise strong Utah effort, and pulled away late to claim an 82-74 win at the Delta Center as part of the Salt Lake Showcase.
Utah closed out the final 6:07 of the game without a field goal. Additionally, the Utes turned over the ball 14 times, spotting the Bulldogs 22 points off mistakes.
"I mean, we've got to play the way we played in the first half. We've got to play the second half the exact same way," freshman Kendyl Sanders said. "We just get settled, and we were just happy. But then, of course, they start chipping and chipping away, we start putting our heads down. That's just how the game goes.
"Honestly, we've just got to keep going, can't stop — no taking the foot off the pedal."
Mississippi State guard Ja'Borri McGhee was equally impressive for his side, finishing with five made 3-pointers to lead the Bulldogs with 29 points, as well. Fellow guard Jayden Epps supplied an additional 20 points and four rebounds in the win.
And though Utah outrebounded Mississippi State 33-32, it was the lopsided scoring in the post that proved detrimental in the end. The Bulldogs outscored the Utes 46-26 in the post — 26 points in the second half alone by the Bulldogs — by taking advantage of a weaker interior defense.
Like much of the season, Utah got lackadaisical after building on its success and then allowed an opponent to wreak havoc on a less-than sharp performance. And like many times before it, Utah found itself on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
"I think it's kind of happened multiple times where this year we've gotten a double-digit lead, and I think it's just kind of a maturity level for us as a group, as a team. ... But we tend to get a little lackadaisical and then be not patient on offense and we end up dribbling a lot and taking early shots," Utah head coach Alex Jensen said.
Even then, Jensen said he sees growth within his team, who was without the service of Jacob Patrick (a late scratch) Saturday. But it's about putting together a consistent and complete game, and not just settling for one good half of basketball.
"I think we are making strides," Jensen said. "I think a lot of our guys have made little strides, and it's gonna be patient."
Utah's Terrence Brown was the only other player to finish in double figures — a common theme for Utah — with 22 points and three assists in the loss.
