3 takeaways from Utah’s 79-65 win over Stanford

Utah Utes guard Alfonso Plummer (25) celebrates his 3-pointer against the Stanford Cardinal in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Utah snapped a four-game losing streak, beating Stanford 79-65 at the Huntsman Center on Thursday afternoon.

Here are three keys from the win:

• Utah, which has struggled to open the second half during the past few games, fixed that problem on Thursday. The Utes opened the second period on a 7-3 run after taking a nine-point lead into the half and never looked back. Utah extended their lead throughout the second half, outscoring Stanford 45-40 in the final period.
• Timmy Allen and Alfonso Plummer led the way for the Utes on offense. Allen turned in another great first-half performance, scoring 15 points in the first 20 minutes and followed that up with seven points in the second half for a total of 22. Plummer delivered 16 points as Utah’s second-leading scorer.
• Utah’s defense was excellent throughout the contest, but especially in the first half. Utah defended the paint well and was able to limit shots from Pac-12 Player of the Week Oscar da Silva. The Utes held the Cardinal to 28% shooting in the first half and 35% overall. Utah limited da Silva to just 11 points on five shots.

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