Branden Carlson nets 34 as Utah runs past Washington

Field Level Media|published: Sun 31st December, 20:30 2023

Dec 31, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes center Branden Carlson (35) takes a shot over Washington Huskies forward Wilhelm Breidenbach (32) during the first half at the the Jon M. Huntsman Center. credits: Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

Branden Carlson tallied 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to rally Utah to a 95-90 victory over Washington in Salt Lake City on Sunday.

Rollie Worster finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Gabe Madsen added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Utes.

Utah (11-2, 2-0 Pac-12) shot 68.8 percent from the field in the second half and made 11 3-pointers for the game to beat Washington for just the second time in the past five meetings. The Utes are off to their best start since the 2015-16 season.

Keion Brooks Jr. led the Huskies with 25 points and seven rebounds. Koren Johnson added 17 points and Wilhelm Breidenbach chipped in 15.

Washington (8-5, 0-2) forced 12 turnovers in the game but unraveled defensively in the second half. The Huskies gave up 60 points after halftime.

Utah trailed by 15 points late in the first half before rallying to erase the deficit after the break. The Utes made 7 of 8 field-goal attempts over a four-plus-minute stretch and finally took a 67-66 lead on back-to-back baskets from Madsen and Keba Keita.

Carlson reeled off 21 straight Utah points over a stretch of 6:35 to keep Washington from countering the rally while extending the Utes' lead to 89-81 with 1:55 left on back-to-back baskets. He made eight buckets from the floor, including three 3-pointers, during his outburst.

Washington dug an early hole for itself after the Huskies missed 14 of their first 16 shots from the field. Offensive futility opened a door for Utah to rip off a 10-2 run and carve out an 18-7 lead. Carlson and Cole Bajema punctuated the run, with Carlson converting a three-point play and Bajema adding a layup.

The Huskies then put together a massive 23-2 run that erased the deficit and gave them a 32-22 lead.

Carlson scored the lone points for the Utes during the Washington surge.

The Huskies led by as many as 15 before halftime, going up 44-29 on Johnson's layup. Washington committed zero turnovers during the first half.

—Field Level Media

Latest