So he knew just what to say to his teammates this time.

"We just have to regroup," he said, "because it could have been worse. It can get ugly in this building, quick."

Yet for the first time in three years, the Utes did not allow that to happen - fighting back from a rough first half with hot shooting and tenacious rebounding to beat the Falcons 67-59 at Clune Arena and finally win a game in which they trailed at halftime.

"It's another step in the process," coach Jim Boylen said.

Hardly an insignificant one, either.

The Utes had lost all seven of their previous games this season in which they trailed at the half, and were poised to make it eight when they fell behind 30-20, their largest halftime deficit of the season.

"To say the least, I was disappointed in my team at halftime," Boylen said.

Everything changed after that, though.

Not only did Bryant heat up and bury three of his team's five three-pointers in a 4 1/2 -minute stretch of the second half that helped the Utes seize the lead - he finished with a game-high 17 points - but the Utes finally started defending and rebounding.

While the Utes allowed the Falcons to shoot 56 percent in the first half while grabbing just one offensive rebound off their 11 missed shots, they allowed just 29 percent shooting in the second half and grabbed 11 offensive boards off just 15 misses, ultimately improving to 14-8 overall and 5-4 in the Mountain West Conference.

The Falcons, meanwhile, made just two baskets in the final 15 minutes, and fell to 13-8 overall and 4-5 in the league.

"We didn't give up on ourselves, and we knew we would come out strong in the second half," Utah's Carlon Brown said. "We just had to figure out their zone, and how to attack it properly."

Playing in rare combination late in a foul-plagued game, Brown and fellow guard Luka Drca made a big difference for the Utes, combining for 11 points during a 13-5 run that allowed the Utes to pull away from a 48-48 tie.

"That was a great combination for us," Boylen said.

Drca scored a career-high 12 points for the Utes, while Brown grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds, and even made two crucial free throws among his six points - something coach Jeff Reynolds wished his Falcons would have done.

Yes, they made their last 14 free throws down the stretch and had a chance at the end - Andrew Henke missed a wild three-pointer with about 24 seconds left, after stealing a long inbounds pass - but not before making just 4 of their first 13. That kept them from perhaps turning the game into a blowout before the Utes had a chance to fight back.

"That would have been a different story," Bryant said.

But it wasn't, and the Utes headed home with their third three-game winning streak of the season, and a week off to enjoy it.

mcl@sltrib.com