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SALT LAKE CITY — Scoring came at a premium for the Utah Utes in a 62-45 blowout loss to the Washington Huskies Wednesday.
Senior Sedrick Barefield set the tone early for the Utes, hitting four 3-pointers in the opening seven minutes of play as Utah took a 10-point lead — its largest of the game — over the hometown Huskies.
But Utah struggled to continue its early scoring after Barefield picked up his second foul with just under eight minutes left to play and was forced to sit the remainder of the half.
With Barefield on the bench, Utah lost its scoring threat and the team failed to score a field goal in the final 4:38 of the half and was outscored 20-7. In that stretch, Washington would claim its first lead of the game, taking a six-point lead into the break.
But it got much worse in the second half for the Utes.
Utah would continue its scoring slump to open up the second half and failed to score a field goal in the first 11:10 of play. In that time, Washington built up an 18-point lead and took control over the game as Utah missed shot after shot after shot.
The only points Utah got in the first 11 minutes of play in the second half was two free throw attempts made by senior Parker Van Dyke after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Utah’s first field goal of the half came with 8:50 left to play when Both Gach hit a 3-pointer. In all, it was a 15:48 drought for Utah from the field, who were outscored 29-18 in the second half.
The Huskies claimed the blowout victory over a lackluster Utah team that also finished with 18 total turnovers. But Washington failed to score at a high clip despite Utah’s poor defense. Washington finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field, but hovered in the 30 percent area for much of the game.
Defensively, Washington’s zone defense frustrated the Utes and kept them from getting any decent looks, as evident by their lack of scoring. Washington managed six blocks in the game, including three from Matisse Thybulle in the first half.
Washington featured five players in double figures and was led by Nahziah Carter’s 12 points in 21 minutes of play off the bench. He was joined by Noah Dickerson’s 11 points and Thybulle, David Crisp and Jaylen Nowell who each finished with 10 points apiece.
Despite the hot start for Barefield, the senior guard failed to score any points after his four 3-pointers and finished the night shooting 4-of-13 from the field in 28 minutes of play. He was the only player on Utah in double figures in the loss.
Utah freshman Timmy Allen was a scratch for the game after lingering back pain kept him out. Allen played through the pain last week, but Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said Saturday that it was difficult for him to maintain a competitive level of play. In his absence, Krystkowiak inserted sophomore Donnie Tillman into the starting lineup — a first since Dec. 15.
Tillman finished the game with zero points on 0-of-3 shooting and four rebounds in the loss.
