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 Dakarai Tucker scored nine of his 11 points during a key stretch
of the second half to help Utah (21-4, 11-2 Pac-12) remain in a
first-place tie with No. 7 Arizona atop the conference with its
seventh victory in the last eight games. Brandon Taylor and Jordan
Loveridge each made a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points
apiece as the Utes were 5-for-9 from beyond the arc in the second
half and won the battle on the boards 33-25.
Malcolm Duvivier registered 12 points, five rebounds and four
assists for Oregon State (16-10, 7-7), which won its first 14
contests at home for the first time in school history before
shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 2-for-15 from 3-point
range. Daniel Gomis scored seven points while Gary Payton II
contributed six points, six rebounds and two blocks as the Beavers
recorded their second-lowest point total of the season after a 57-34
loss at Arizona on Jan. 30.
 The stingiest defensive teams in the Pac-12 lived up to their
billing as Utah led 16-14 at halftime - the lowest-scoring Pac-12
contest after 20 minutes this season - with each team shooting
7-for-19 from the field and a combined 2-for-15 from 3-point range.
Wright scored five straight points - capped by a three-point play -
to give the Utes a 21-16 lead with 17:37 left and Tucker scored the
next nine Utah points - including two 3-pointers - to make it 30-23
with 12:09 to play.
Loveridge's 3-pointer extended Utah's advantage to 35-26 with 6:38
left and Taylor's shot from beyond the arc gave the Utes a 38-28
lead with 4:36 to go. Jakob Poeltl, a 7-0 freshman, scored his only
basket with 47.5 seconds left to make it 43-32 after grabbing seven
rebounds as Utah survived its lowest-scoring output of the season.
[to top of second column] |
GAME NOTEBOOK: Utah won for the first time in seven tries at Gill
Coliseum. ... Oregon State, which has not appeared in the NCAA
Tournament since 1990 - the longest drought among Pac-12 teams,
missed its chance to defeat two top-10 teams in a season since
1975-76 after defeating Arizona 58-56 on Jan. 11. ... Utah coach
Larry Krystkowiak and Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle were teammates
at Montana in 1985-86 when Krystkowiak was a senior and Tinkle a
freshman, and Tinkle also served as Krystkowiak's assistant at
Montana for two seasons before becoming the head coach from 2006-14.
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