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Now starring at point center: Jakob Poeltl.

From five feet beyond the arc, the sophomore put the ball on the floor, glided past a swiping Malik Dime, and took one more mammoth footstep up the court before bringing the ball — looking like a tangerine in his hands — crashing down on the rim as Andrew Andrews watched from below.

His final dunk with 36 seconds remaining was no different than the feat he and the Utes (18-7, 7-5) performed all night in a 90-82 home win against the Huskies: They made the Washington defense look like it wasn't there.

"We moved the ball well, and I had a lot of dump-offs," said Poeltl, settled into a chair after a 23-point night shooting 11 for 12 from the field. "I think all or most of my shots were layups and dunks, so I expect myself to make those shots."

It didn't matter how close to the rim the Utes took a shot: They made them all seem easy.

The Utes shot a season-high 67.3 percent from the floor, including 19 for 22 at the rim and 10 for 17 from beyond the arc. The Utes had five players in double-figure scoring, turning around at the Huntsman Center after a pair of road losses last week.

The Utes were also battling cold and flu issues this week and faced a short turnaround. While familiar turnover issues reared early, and Utah's defense struggled to put the Huskies to bed, coach Larry Krystkowiak took a moment to admire his team's grit — something that was in question after the two-game slide in Oregon.

"I really think a lot of our guys are beat up," he said. "We've got a really sick team right now. It hasn't been an easy stretch for us. You can tell it in practice, when you're trying to practice, it's not that our guys don't want to go hard, but there's not a lot left in the tank."

Utah's offense begged to differ. Notably, Utah's starting backcourt — which faced the most scrutiny over the weekend — bounced back in a big way.

Junior Lorenzo Bonam scored 18 points on 7 for 9 shooting, including a number of dunks and contested layups that bumped up Utah's lead as Poeltl was confined to the bench with foul trouble midway through the game. Senior Jordan Loveridge had 16 points, while senior Brandon Taylor chipped in 15 points, including four 3-pointers, while dishing out six assists.

But sophomore Kyle Kuzma had the team lead with seven assists, one of four players with four or more assists on a night when the Utes had a helper on almost three-quarters of its field goals. Down the stretch, everyone fed Poeltl, who had 17 points in the second half alone and scored Utah's last four baskets.

Thanks to 20-plus point games by both Andrews and Marquese Chriss, the Huskies weren't truly out of reach until the final minute. Washington cut the lead to five with three straight dunks, but Poeltl put the lid on the comeback attempt with a critical offensive rebound and then the bruising dunk.

With the win, Utah improved to tie for fourth place with Washington in the Pac-12 standings, and earned a regular season sweep of the Huskies.

Utah's first-half possessions were almost entirely boom-or-bust. When the Utes weren't giving away, they were scoring at a 64 percent shooting clip. With 12 assists on 16 first-half baskets, the Utes were as effective from deep (6 for 10) as they were in the paint (20 points).

But the turnovers were glaring: The Utes gave up 12 in the first half alone on offensive fouls, six Husky steals, travels and even a carry. Washington was able to keep pace with Utah's red-hot shooting with 19 points off of turnovers in the first 20 minutes alone.

But still, the Utes managed to weather some early challenges. After Jakob Poeltl picked up his second foul after it appeared Chriss bowled him over, the Utes still managed to go into the locker room with a lead after Chris Reyes hit a pair of free throws, then Taylor dished under the basket to a streaking Bonam for a buzzer-beating jam.

Twitter: @kylegoon —

Utah 90, Washington 82

WASHINGTON (15-9)

Chriss 10-18 3-4 24, Thybulle 0-4 0-0 0, Murray 2-11 0-0 4, Andrews 8-16 3-3 22, Dickerson 5-8 1-1 11, Crisp 0-1 0-0 0, Dime 4-4 0-0 8, Green 4-7 2-2 13, Dorsey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-69 9-10 82.

UTAH (18-7)

Taylor 5-8 1-2 15, Bonam 7-9 3-3 18, Loveridge 5-11 1-2 16, Kuzma 4-6 0-3 8, Poeltl 11-12 1-3 23, Chapman 0-1 0-0 0, Wright 0-1 0-0 0, Tucker 0-0 0-0 0, Reyes 3-4 4-4 10. Totals 35-52 10-17 90.

Halftime—Utah 43-40. 3-Point Goals—Washington 7-22 (Green 3-5, Andrews 3-7, Chriss 1-3, Thybulle 0-3, Murray 0-4), Utah 10-17 (Loveridge 5-8, Taylor 4-7, Bonam 1-1, Wright 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Washington 34 (Dime 9), Utah 25 (Poeltl 6). Assists—Washington 16 (Andrews, Thybulle 5), Utah 26 (Kuzma 7). Total Fouls—Washington 17, Utah 14. A—NA.