Branden Carlson scored 17 points to lead Utah to a 73-62 victory over Colorado in their Pac-12 matchup in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
Carlson shot 7-of-13 from the floor to help the Utes (17-9, 10-5 Pac-12) earn their second straight victory. Marco Anthony also finished with 17 points and added eight rebounds for Utah. Ben Carlson chipped in 10 points and eight boards. Rollie Worster added a team-high six assists before fouling out in the final minute.
KJ Simpson tallied 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals to lead Colorado (14-12, 6-9). Julian Hammond III added 11 points for the Buffaloes. Tristan da Silva finished with just six points on 3-of-12 shooting after scoring 20 or more points in his previous five games.
The Utes dominated on the glass. Utah outrebounded Colorado 41-29 and scored 12 second chance points off 11 offensive rebounds.
Utah broke a close game open early in the second half. Branden Carlson’s dunk ignited a string of four baskets over four possessions that gave the Utes a 50-36 lead.
Colorado went a pair of stretches of at least four minutes in the second half without making a basket. The second drought allowed Utah to use an 8-0 run punctuated by back-to-back baskets from Keba Keita to extend its lead to 62-44.
Utah scored three straight baskets — punctuated by a dunk from Branden Carlson — as part of a 14-3 run that gave the Utes a 21-10 lead midway through the first half.
Colorado never led before halftime, but the Buffaloes were able to stay close by forcing turnovers. Utah committed six turnovers in the first half, leading to 10 points on the other end for Colorado.
Hammond hit four free throws to trim the deficit to 36-32 just before halftime.
–Field Level Media