This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Portland, Ore. • Mark McGinnis walked into the Utah basketball team dinner Wednesday night to a reception worthy of a long-lost brother or uncle.
The Utes were undoubtedly thrilled to see him. And the Navy SEALs commander was glad to join them for a final campaign.
In the offseason, McGinnis was the man who led the Utes through a grueling 72-hour training to replicate some of the challenges — mud crawls, log carries, seemingly endless running — faced by recruits of the U.S. military's most elite fighting force. They built the messages they learned from the program, such as the phrase "MUSSter up," into the season.
Larry Krystkowiak thought it appropriate that McGinnis should be with the team this week in Portland as they made their final push of the season.
"I thought it would be really nice to have it come full circle and bring him back in," Krystkowiak said on the heels of Utah's 75-64 win over Georgetown. "He's been here with us the last three days. Really, it's helped galvanize us."
As Utah prepared for Stephen F. Austin, McGinnis preached about purpose and passion. When Georgetown was coming up, he talked about being ruthless.
Maybe that ruthlessness was on the Utes' mind as they crunched the Hoyas at the finish, denying them baskets and getting to the line.
McGinnis' credentials, as Krystkowiak described them, include leading over 400 missions and never losing a life. His addresses before games this week helped spark the Utes' imagination and get them ready for action.
"He's done a good job getting our guys dialed in," Krystkowiak said.
Taylor's tenacious D
Though Utah's defense was getting blistered early, it was all part of the plan.
Well, OK, not exactly the plan. But Utah was willing to give up some 3-point attempts if it meant putting a cage around Big East first-team guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera. The Hoyas were a little hotter than Utah expected, hitting 6 of 9 from deep to start.
"It left what we call some 'snapbacks' open," assistant Andy Hill said. "But part of that was our plan, we weren't going to let Smith-Rivera beat us. Somebody else was going to have to make a shot — we weren't going to let him have carte blanche and go for 20."
Smith-Rivera got anything but a pass going against Brandon Taylor, who stayed in front of him almost all night. With two points at the half and only six for the first 34 minutes, Georgetown's leading scorer was hassled and haggled for a 6-of-15 night.
"It cost a couple of other baskets," Hill said. "But at least he didn't get going."
Free throws clinch
It wasn't perfect, but 9 for 15 on free throws at the finish was good enough to win.
Georgetown's desperation led to early fouling. And while free throws have challenged Utah at times this year, they didn't present too many problems on Saturday night. Dakarai Tucker and Jordan Loveridge each made a perfect pair, and Taylor hit a few as well.
"We shoot them every day, no matter whether it's practice or shoot-around," Loveridge said. "When we're making them, we feed off each other."
Twitter: @kylegoon