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It took one foot sliding in a referee's path for Utah to take the lead.
But keeping it — the Runnin' Utes' defense will take credit for that.
Utah earned its second Pac-12 victory in stunning fashion, capping a 14-point comeback with clutch free throws to beat visiting Oregon State, 59-53. The Utes held the Beavers to only one point in the final five-and-a-half minutes while avoiding their first back-to-back losses at the Huntsman Center in three years.
Down by 11 at halftime, Utah (13-5, 2-3) appeared to be headed for a similar result to a double-digit loss on Thursday. But the Utes rallied back to tie the game with three minutes left, then took the lead for good on a bizarre sequence when Oregon State forward Jarmal Reid tripped referee Tommy Nunez for a flagrant foul. The Utes made 10 of their final 13 free throws to seal up the game for good.
It's the second time the Utes have needed a big late comeback to win a conference game. The team's latest victory kept it from slipping to 0-2 at home in the Pac-12 and kept its NCAA Tournament bid prospects from sinking.
Jakob Poeltl, who led all scorers with 15 points, said there was some serious soul-searching at halftime.
"We as players, we just got together and said, we need a stop, and we need to really focus on this game right now," he said. "It's a really important, hopefully, turning point for us in the season. We've just got to stop fooling around and play our best basketball — get out there, grind, play with energy. And we did."
The Utes stepped out of the intermission with purpose, closing the gap to six points as Poeltl warmed up from the paint. A somewhat sparse Sunday crowd was nonetheless loud, cheering on as Utah slowly trimmed the lead, and erupting when Jordan Loveridge finally tied it with 5:52 to go on a 3-pointer — the first tie since the 18-minute mark of the first half.
Tres Tinkle scored a go-ahead bucket, but Poeltl tied it up on a pair of free throws. Then the game took a turn for the strange.
After getting tied up with Poeltl on a Utah possession and spinning to the ground, Reid argued for a foul, then appeared to stick his foot in the path of Nunez. An official review resulted in Reid's ejection, and Brandon Taylor hit a free throw to give Utah its first lead at 2:56.
Utah never trailed again, keeping Oregon State from scoring on its final five shot attempts. The clutch late defense that delivered wins against Duke and Colorado resurfaced, keeping OSU from getting good looks and forcing the Beavers into nine turnovers, all in the second half.
Coach Larry Krystkowiak said Utah's defense had gone off script in the first period, double-teaming leading scorer Gary Payton II and leaving other Beavers open who put Utah in a 24-10 hole early. While he was disappointed it took such a heroic attempt to scrape out a win — which made him 2-0 against former teammate and assistant Wayne Tinkle — he was relieved the Utes had it in them.
"It's persistence, I think, in this league," he said. "It's going to require some grit, some passion. … I'd like to believe it isn't going to be much harder than this."
It quickly became apparent that Utah wasn't ready for an immediate turnaround. After shooting a season low against Oregon in a loss on Thursday, the Utes started out 4 for 16 from the field against Oregon State's zone defense, with six turnovers to boot. The team began the game with eight straight misses from behind the arc, until Dakarai Tucker hit a corner three with 5:35 left in the half.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R The Utes hold Oregon State to 1 point in last 5:26.
• Jarmal Reid's technical foul allows Utah to take its first lead with 2:56 left.
• Utah makes 10 of its final 13 free throws to seal the game.
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