Runnin' Utes season comes to a close after loss to Washington in first round of Pac-12 Tournament

Despite a closely contested first half, Utah was outplayed by Washington in the second and suffered a first round exit in the Pac-12 Tournament to officially end their season.

Despite a closely contested first half and trailing Washington by only three at the break, the Runnin’ Utes basketball season is officially over after just the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament. While senior guard Marco Anthony was a bright spot early on and helped the Utes remain within striking distance, the Huskies dominated the second half and sent the Utes home with a 82-70 loss.

Anthony was the lifeline for the Utes through the initial 20 minutes of play as he led the team with 11 points on 5-8 shooting. Operating primarily in the midrange, Anthony used his body to get to his spot and connected on several impressive turnaround jumpers on multiple occasions.

However, despite an impressive performance from the 6-foot-5 senior guard in the first, Washington guard Terrell Brown Jr. started cooking for the Huskies in the second half. Having averaged a team-high 21.7 points per game over the course of the season, Brown summoned his offensive abilities and helped Washington quickly pull away.

Over the course of four minutes and near the midway point of the second half, Brown and the Huskies orchestrated a 12-0 run against Utah. With several steals, transition buckets, and several shots beyond the arc, the Utes fell well behind and could never recover as they were outscored 42-33 in the second half.

While Utah continued to fight as they had done all season long, Brown and the Huskies were simply too much as they continued to hit timely shots and halted any attempt at a comeback. Notably, Brown would finish with a game-high 22 points in addition to five assists and four rebounds.

With the loss, Utah concludes their 2021-22 season with an 11-20 overall record and an abysmal 4-17 Pac-12 Conference record. All eyes will now be on head coach Craig Smith as he transitions to his first offseason and attempts to build a stronger roster for the 2022-23 campaign. 

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