UCLA
14-12,9-6Pac-12
Utah
16-10,7-8Pac-12
Men's Basketball Edged by Utah, 70-69
February 18, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – Utah's Branden Carlson delivered a put-back layup under the basket with 0.2 seconds to play on Sunday evening, leading the Runnin' Utes past UCLA, 70-69, before a crowd of 9,537 in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
Carlson's last-second shot under the hoop took place after Utah's Deivon Smith raced the length of the court out of a timeout with six seconds remaining. Smith darted to the hoop and his layup was contested by UCLA's Adem Bona. In a scrum for the rebound, Carlson grabbed the basketball with under two seconds to play and sank a layup. The Bruins' ensuing full-court attempt in the game's final 0.2 seconds was unsuccessful.
UCLA (14-12, 9-6 Pac-12) saw its six-game winning streak end with Sunday's loss. Lazar Stefanovic scored a team-leading 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Bruins. Dylan Andrews finished with 15 points, and Will McClendon had nine points and a team-best nine rebounds.
Utah (16-10, 7-8 Pac-12) received a team-best 17 points from Branden Carlson and Deivon Smith. Carlson made 6 of 13 shots for Utah, sinking 4 of 7 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. Smith had 17 points, a team-leading 10 assists and four rebounds.
The Bruins trailed Utah, 68-67, with under 15 seconds to play. Andrews nailed a deep two-point jump shot with under seven seconds left in the contest to put UCLA ahead, 69-68.
The game's final seven minutes featured four lead changes. UCLA led by as many as six points midway through the second half, taking a 57-51 lead with under nine minutes to play before Utah's Gabe Madsen hit one of two free throw attempts. Utah tied the contest, 57-57, with 6:35 remaining, capitalizing on a 3-pointer by Cole Bajema (7:17) and a driving layup by Smith (6:35). An ensuing free throw by Smith put the Runnin' Utes ahead, 58-57.
UCLA reclaimed the lead on a layup by Berke Buyuktuncel at the 6:12 mark, before Buyuktuncel nailed a 3-pointer with 5:20 left in regulation to give the Bruins a 62-58 cushion.
After Utah had tied the game, 64-64, with 2:44 to play, McClendon drilled a 3-pointer for the Bruins. That shot put UCLA ahead of Utah, 67-64.
UCLA led by as many as seven points in the first half and entered the locker room at halftime leading 36-34. The Bruins opened the game trailing by a 7-0 margin to the Runnin' Utes before scoring the game's next five points.
In all, Sunday's showdown between Utah and UCLA featured 10 lead changes and six times.
The Bruins have five regular-season games left on the schedule, including three home contests (vs. USC, vs. Arizona and vs. Arizona State). UCLA will return to action against USC next Saturday in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time is set for 7 p.m. (PT). UCLA's contest against crosstown rival USC will be nationally televised on ESPN.
