This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Boulder, Colo. • The hero of the moment, Lorenzo Bonam, played the part with a little bravado.
The junior guard told the press he didn't watch his game-winning shot, which dribbled dangerously around the rim before falling in to give Utah a 56-54 win. He had looked back and watched with everyone else, replay confirmed, but the point was made: He wanted everyone to know he was confident — he liked the game on the line and the ball on his hands.
"I think he's best when he's attacking and kind of doing his thing," coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "In the locker room in front of the whole team, I let him know that, 'In order for you to take the next step and for our team to be good, you need to have that recklessness you had.' "
"Recklessness" might not be the right word. But "aggressiveness" is closer to what Utah is looking for from Bonam and the rest of the team — and it's what helped the Utes pull through Friday at the Coors Events Center for their first true road win of the year.
Through two conference losses, Krystkowiak said numerous times he thought his group came off as "soft," which hasn't often been said of Utah in recent years. Getting beat in the rebounding battle, turning the ball over, missing clutch free throws and standing around on offense without the ball — to Krystkowiak, it pointed to (at least in part) a mentality issue.
He had several meetings with players over the week, asking for more assertiveness. The Utes went through rebounding drills designed to make them work harder on the glass. In the pregame warmups at Colorado, the Utes dunked and alley-ooped for a good chunk of the hour before tipoff.
While Utah played far from beautifully, still getting outrebounded and giving up nine first-half turnovers. But down the stretch, there was something to that mental shift. While the Utes may not love having only eight assists, it was in part a product of having players put their heads down and drive into the lane to make something happen.
Kyle Kuzma was one of the aggressors, despite a tailbone injury, ripping in the lane for 12 points. Jordan Loveridge didn't have much success inside the paint, but fired off nine points, particularly back-to-back threes in the second half that kept the game from spilling away.
Utah was also aggressive on defense, going to a zone scheme in the final minutes when they were down by seven. Sophomore Jakob Poeltl matched his season-low with six points, but still added 11 key rebounds. His only block of the game and his last points of the game came within the 3-minute mark.
No one was more successful against Colorado than Bonam, Utah's fastest player and best slasher, who made several contested baskets before his final one.
"It feels real good," he said, beaming. "We've lost in that situation before, where we've gone into overtime and had somebody else do it."
He would know all too well.
In that situation a week before at Stanford, Bonam was called to make a game-winning or game-tying play with seven seconds remaining, six seconds less than he had against the Buffs and with the full length of the court to drive. Bonam drove toward a defender, but traveled, all but ending the game.
It was in this context that Krystkowiak, after scheming for a chunk of Friday afternoon and faced with another late-game situation in a timeout, gave the ball back to Bonam. Stubbornly, Krystkowiak held on to his faith that Bonam could come through in the clutch. This time, Bonam delivered.
Meanwhile, Colorado coach Tad Boyle — who Krystkowiak said he admires for coaching grit — was left frustrated by a loss which KenPom estimated his team to have a 92 percent win probability with 6:44 remaining. He blamed himself for not calling a timeout before Colorado's last possession, which ended in a turnover, but also gave credit where it was due.
"Utah made the plays and we didn't," he said. "I tip my hat to Lorenzo Bonam: He made a big-time play at the end."
Twitter: @kylegoon