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SALT LAKE CITY — Chris Colvin buried a 3-point shot for Arizona State to put the Sun Devils up 49-41 with 7:17 left in the game, taking the air right out of the Jon M. Huntsman Center crowd.
Everyone in the arena had seen this song and dance several times before: Utah jumps out to a lead during a solid first half, before the momentum starts to turn early in the second half, only to see the Utes collapse down the stretch and lose the game.
The Runnin' Utes were holding true to that form for the first 33 minutes of Wednesday night's match-up. But at the point where they had fallen apart in past games this season, they rose to the occasion against Arizona State.
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Freshman forward Jordan Loveridge answered Colvin's 3-pointer with a 3-ball of his own to make it 49-44. The Utes became the aggessors and got to the free throw line, scoring their next five points by hitting 5 of 6 from the charity stripe to make it a four point game, 53-49, with 2:39 remaining on the clock.
Just before the two-minute mark, Brandon Taylor squared up for a 3-point shot and let it fly. The freshman guard was in a slump, shooting 0 for 6 from the field to that point. This field goal attempt, however, went right down the cylinder and tickled the twine, breaking Taylor out of his funk and shaving the ASU lead down to just one.
Senior center Jason Washburn took an entry pass on the following Utah possession, before spinning baseline past the ASU defender and under the hoop, and then laying the ball up and in to give Utah its first lead in nearly 10 minutes of play.
"That's kind of my move," Washburn said. "I love that move. It was open — I took one dribble, and I saw it. I went aggressive, went up and around it. I feel like that's my role, I got to make big plays."
The Utes got another defensive stop, and from that point on, it came down to sinking free throws — which they did. They knocked down 6 for 6 from the line in the final 32 seconds to seal the victory.
"We got stops and did a few things to change the pick and roll coverage," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We had a lot of energy and went with a smaller line up to match them. The key to the game, when you look back at it, is that we made free throws."
In all, it was a 19-6 Utah run over the final seven minutes of the contest, keying the 60-55 win.
"Tonight we never gave up," Washburn said. "Our guys hit some big free throws down the stretch. I love the feeling of a win.”
Washburn had a hay day against the Sun Devils, tying a career high of 26 points to go with nine rebounds, including the go-ahead bucket with 1:26 to play.
"Coach always tries to give me the ball and so does my team," said Washburn. "My teammates kept pushing me and trying to get me the ball, and because of it I had a good game."
Loveridge finished with 13 points and six boards as the Utes improved to 11-13 and 3-9 in the Pac-12.
Senior forward Carrick Felix led Arizona State (18-7, 7-5) with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Jahii Carson added 12 points, while Colvin contributed 10 points, six boards and four assists in the Sun Devil loss.
Field goal percentages were fairly close, with the Utes shooting 45.2 percent from the floor to ASU's 40 percent. The key disparity in percentages was Utah's 74.9 percent from the free throw line (17 of 23) to the Sun Devils' 40 percent (4 for 10).
Utah jumped out to a 14-4 lead early on, and took a 29-22 lead into half time. Arizona State rode a 19-8 second-half run to pull ahead with 11:05 remaining in the game.
The players, watching them have fun in the locker room after the game — they have been as resilient of a group that I have been around
–Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak
But for the first time since opening conference play, the Utes were the ones rallying late and out-executing the opponent, coming away with the W.
"I think our history this season has been that we're the team on the other side, not executing down the stretch, letting (the opponents) get the buckets," Washburn said. "It shows the growth in our team — we lost a few of these kinds of games early in the season, held on against Colorado, and now against Arizona State, we out-executed them and did what we needed to do. It takes a lot of heart and a lot of confidence."
"The players, watching them have fun in the locker room after the game — they have been as resilient of a group that I have been around," said Krystkowiak. "I am thinking about the fans. We are trying to get (the program) restored and games like this give us some momentum. Hopefully this is not just medicine for us, but for the fans and gain momentum to get this thing built again."
Winners of two straight at home, the Utes will next host No. 9 Arizona (20-3, 8-3) Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. When Utah last met the Wildcats on Jan. 5, then-No. 3-ranked Arizona hung on for a three point win after Jarred DuBois' 3-pointer rimmed out in the final seconds.
"I told our seniors on Monday that we have four home games and three road games left and that there is no reason to wait for the Oregon game (on March 9) to have senior night," Krystkowiak said. "These guys want to finish on a good note and put a good finish on the season."
Tyson Maddy has covered the University of Utah football and men's basketball teams as a contributing writer for KSL.com Sports since 2011. Follow his Utes coverage on twitter @Tyson_Maddy
