Utah Utes forward Mikael Jantunen (20) celebrates the win over Washington Huskies forward RaeQuan Battle (21) in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. The Utes won 67-66. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Looking at the final stats of Thursday’s Utah-Washington game, you might wonder how the Utes were able to pull out a 67-66 victory.
The Utes shot a dismal 33.9% from the field and an even worse 12.5% from 3-point range, going 3 for 24. Meanwhile, the Huskies had one of their better shooting nights of the season at 51.1% overall and 45% from 3-point range.
But as important as making baskets are, there were several other areas where the Utes outplayed the defending Pac-12 champions.
The Utes won the rebounding battle 38 to 29, fueled by 18 offensive rebounds, and they committed seven fewer turnovers with just 10 — two in the second half — to the Huskies’ 17. And certainly the big edge at the free-throw line — 24 of 32 to Washington’s 11 for 14, made a big difference.
Ute coach Larry Krystkowiak knew his team was in desperate need of a victory after losing its four previous games, including the last three by an average of 25 points.
“We had some great discussions this week about the ebbs and flows of the season,” Krystkowiak said. “What I just challenged our guys is ‘let’s just try to play really hard.’ A lot of times if you’re getting bogged down statistically, whatever it might be, you try to play hard, set a great screen ... and usually the game will honor you back if you approach it the right way.”
Shooting continued to be a problem Thursday as it has been throughout the Pac-12 portion of the season as only one player, reserve Mikael Jantunen, who was 4-for-4, shot above 50%.
Riley Battin, who led the Utes with 17 points, shot 5 for 12, Timmy Allen was 4 for 12, Rylan Jones went 2 for 11 and Both Gach 1 for 7.
Krystkowiak called it “the essence of the team” that his players could pull out a win, with no one in particular carrying the team.
“We’ve had a funk with a number of guys recently and it’s been pretty ugly trying to find an identity,” he said. “Certainly our offense wasn’t what dazzled tonight. It was good tonight for two or three guys to find a little bit of rhythm. The essence of a team is you don’t need everybody clicking on all cylinders.”
Jones, who came alive with all 13 of his points in the final 5:25, said the Utes weren’t about to give up, despite trailing by 11 points with under six minutes to play.
“There’s no give-up on our team,” he said. “We’re a bunch of tough kids and we want to play hard and win and weren’t going to give up. We were trying to get off this losing streak and we just played with a lot of heart.”
The Utes will try to build off the momentum of Thursday’s comeback win when it plays an improved Washington State team Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Huntsman Center, a team they’ve beaten 11 straight times since 2014.
Under first-year coach Kyle Smith, the Cougars are having their best season in more than a decade. The last time Washington State had a winning record in conference play was in 2007-08 and the Cougars haven’t finished above eighth place since Utah joined the league in 2011-12.
This year, the Cougars are off to a 12-8 start and last week knocked off No. 8 Oregon at home 72-61 and Oregon State 89-76 after earlier beating UCLA. On Thursday, they were brought back to earth with a 78-56 loss at Colorado to fall to 3-4 in the Pac-12.
The Cougars are led by sophomore forward C.J. Elleby at 18.8 ppg and junior guard Isaac Bonton at 14.3 ppg. Utah native Jeff Pollard is third on the team in scoring at 9.4 ppg.
“We have to remain humble and hungry — we know there’s a good Washington State team coming,” Krystkowiak said. “I know they’re playing well, they’re playing with a lot of energy, and Kyle’s a really good coach. We’ve got to set our sights on playing some defense.”
After Saturday’s game, the Utes hit the road again for games at USC on Thursday, followed by a game at UCLA Sunday afternoon.
Utes on the air
Utah (11-7, 2-4) vs. Washington State (12-8, 3-4)
Saturday, 5 p.m. MST
Huntsman Center
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: 700 AM
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