Huskies Blow 15-Point Lead, Get Swept On Road Trip

The UW proved generous while losing to Utah and Colorado.

Unable to play a full game for the second consecutive outing, the Washington basketball team gave up a 15-point first-half lead and couldn't mount a comeback, falling to Utah 95-90 on Sunday in Salt Lake City. 

The Huskies (8-5, 0-2) played without senior center Franck Kepnang for the third consecutive game as he recovers from a knee injury suffered against Seattle University. 

Still, they used the personnel on hand to overcome an 11-point deficit early in the game, went up by 44-29 with 2:04 left in the first half and settled into a 46-35 lead at halftime.

Yet the lack of a big man came back to haunt them.

Braxton Meah, who started at center in place of Kepnang, fouled out of the game with 9:31 remaining when Utah center Keba Ketia scored a pair off the glass, added one more at the line and the Utes took their first lead of the second half at 67-66. 

If Utes center Branden Carlson didn't need any more help than that in finding the bottom of the net, and the lack of a UW presence in the paint proved to be the difference in the game. 

The 7-footer led the way with a career-high 34 points, double his season average coming into the contest, and made it happen on 14-of-23 shooting in 36 minutes of action. 

Carlson's 3-pointer with 8:30 remaining in the game put Utah on top for good at 71-69.

Collectively, the Utes (11-2, 2-0) outscored the Huskies 48-36 in the paint, with 28 coming in the second half alone. 

UW forward Keion Brooks Jr. did his part, scoring a team-high 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting. The 6-foot-7 forward played the final nine minutes with four personal fouls, making it difficult for him to assert his presence on the defensive end without picking up that fifth foul. 

Brooks also didn't get much help from his fellow starters, let alone the issues at center. His 25 points were more than the other four players in the opening lineup, who combined for 24.

The Huskies had to go to their bench to offset that shortfall.  Sophomore guard Koren Johnson provided 17 points and 5 assists, to go with a pair of first-half steals, and junior forward Wilhelm Breidenbach finished with 15 points in a season-high 25 minutes. The 6-foot-10 Breidenbach started off well, scoring 8 points in the first half.

Former Husky guard Cole Bajema finished with 11 points in 21 minutes for Utah, hitting 3 of 7 from behind the 3-point line. 

Washington, which opened the trip with a 73-69 loss at Colorado, returns home Tuesday to host Oregon at 6 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. 

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