Field Level Media
Jan 25, 2020
Rylan Jones scored 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting and matched his season high of four steals to lead Utah to a 76-64 triumph over visiting Washington State in Pac-12 play on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Mikael Jantunen recorded 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench as Utah (12-7, 3-4) defeated Washington State for the 12th consecutive time. The Utes improved to 18-1 all-time at home against the Cougars.
Branden Carlson added 12 points and three blocked shots and Timmy Allen had 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Utes, who shot 63 percent from the field and 4 of 10 from 3-point range.
Isaac Bonton scored 21 points for the Cougars (12-9, 3-5), who have lost four of their past six games.
Jervae Robinson added 13 points and CJ Elleby had 12 points and seven rebounds for Washington State, which shot 46.4 percent from the field, including 10 of 26 from 3-point range.
The Cougars trailed 37-25 at halftime but opened the second half with an 18-5 burst to take a 43-42 lead on Bonton's 3-pointer with 13:57 remaining.
Utah responded with a 16-3 burst to open up a 12-point lead. First, the Utes scored nine straight points, capped by Jantunen's layup to take a 51-43 advantage with 11:12 left.
Washington State's Daron Henson knocked down a 3-pointer with 10:57 left before Utah rattled off seven more points in a row. Two free throws by Jones made it 58-46 with 8:29 remaining.
The Utes protected the lead and increased it to a game-high 15 on Jones' layup with 39 seconds left en route to closing it out and improving to 8-1 at home.
Washington State jumped out to a 12-4 lead over the first five-plus minutes and led 23-19 after a basket by Robinson with 6:47 left in the half.
The Utes dominated the rest of the half with an 18-2 surge. They moved ahead at 24-23 on Allen's three-point play with 4:26 remaining and finished a string of 12 straight points when Carlson split two free throws to make 31-23 with 1:59 remaining.
Carlson later scored the final four points to account for the 12-point halftime edge.
--Field Level Media