UCLA
6-10,1-4Pac-12
Utah
12-4,3-2Pac-12
Men's Basketball Loses at Utah, 90-44
January 11, 2024 | Men's Basketball
SALT LAKE CITY โ The UCLA men's basketball team lost at Utah, 90-44, in a Pac-12 contest at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Thursday evening.
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Utah (12-4, 3-2 Pac-12) outscored the Bruins by a 57-21 margin in the second half after having led 33-23 at the intermission. Five players for the Runnin' Utes scored in double figures, led by Cole Bajema (14 points) and Keba Keita (14 points).
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Utah made 13 three-pointers and shot 50 percent overall from the field (33-for-66), as UCLA dropped its fourth consecutive game.
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UCLA (6-10, 1-4 Pac-12) trailed by a 33-27 margin with 18:12 to play before Utah used a 25-2 scoring run over the game's next seven minutes to secure a 58-29 cushion.
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Dylan Andrews led the Bruins with nine points, connecting on 4 of 10 shots from the field. Lazar Stefanovic and Sebastian Mack each finished with eight points.
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The Bruins trailed Utah, 33-23, at halftime. Utah led by as many as 12 points in the first half, claiming a 31-19 cushion with just under two minutes to play before the intermission.
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UCLA never led in the opening half, as Utah scored the game's first five points. The Runnin' Utes led UCLA by a 19-16 margin with 6:05 to play before halftime and closed the opening half on a 14-7 scoring run.
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The Bruins absorbed their first loss at Utah since March of 2019, snapping a four-game winning streak in games played against Utah at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Bruins had won their past seven games against Utah, including both regular-season matchups last season.
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Thursday night's 46-point loss marked the largest margin of victory by a Bruins' opponent since dropping a 109-61 decision at Stanford (48 points) on Jan. 9, 1997. UCLA had not lost by 40 or more points since the 1997-98 season, when North Carolina registered a 109-68 win over the Bruins in the season opener at the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska (Nov. 27, 1997).
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UCLA will return to action against Washington on Sunday, Jan. 14, in a Pac-12 contest in Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Game time is 4 p.m. (PT). UCLA's game against the Huskies will be televised by the Pac-12 Network, with Roxy Bernstein and Don MacLean calling the action.
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