With 1:56 remaining, it looked like Utah was on its way to winning its second Big 12 Conference game of the season despite a rough shooting day.
The Utes crashed the boards, were showing improved defensive effort (even with some breakdowns) and had found a way to overcome a nine-point first-half deficit, even as they struggled to shoot in the second half.
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The ending, though, fell apart.
Utah stumbled in the final two minutes, as Cincinnati scored the game’s last nine points in a 69-65 win.
“We got a little tentative, and it’s a shame,” Utah coach Alex Jensen said in his postgame interview on ESPN 700 AM.
The Runnin’ Utes (9-16, 1-11 Big 12) went up a game-high five points, at 65-60, when Keanu Dawes hit a fadeaway jumper with 1:52 remaining.
From there, though, Cincinnati made the plays to win.
First, Day Day Thomas scored to make it 65-62 after Cincinnati extended its possession with an offensive rebound.
Then, Terrence Brown missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Baba Miller made two free throws for Cincinnati to trim Utah’s lead to 65-64 with 1:06 to play.
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Don McHenry missed a running jumper, and the Utes’ transition defense gave up a Miller dunk with 40 seconds left, putting the Bearcats ahead 66-65.
While Utah still had its opportunities to win, the Utes couldn’t capitalize. Dawes missed a 3, McHenry was off target on the front end of a 1-and-1 as well as a 3-point attempt and Cincinnati (14-12, 6-7 Big 12) made 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch.
The missed free throws, on a day where the Utes went 12 of 15 from the line, and giving up the go-ahead dunk on a fast break stood out among the plays Utah couldn’t make in clutch moments.
On the fast break, Jizzle James threw ahead to Jalen Celestine, and with Dawes trying to protect the paint in a 2-on-1 situation, Celestine passed to Miller along the baseline at the last second, leading to the bucket.
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“We missed the front of the 1-on-1 and then … transition D, we had a couple guys fall down,” Jensen said “Seydou stopped and stabbed at the ball, and then KD, as hard as 2-on-1 (is), we talk about fouling them and not letting him have it.
“I think we fought hard. I think down the stretch, they got a little tentative, but again, it’s hard to win when you have more turnovers than assists on offense.”
Utah’s turnover-to-assist ratio — the Utes’ gave it away 13 times and had only 12 assists — was part of a frustrating day where Utah only shot 36.1% for the game, and 30.3% in the second half.
While Utah hit more 3-pointers, with nine to Cincinnati’s four, the Utes were outscored 32-16 in the paint and 12-4 in fast break points.
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Jensen has often talked about how the Utes’ margin for error is small with his first-year group — there was so much turnover on Jensen’s first roster, and Utah has had injuries impact its plans time and again.
Against the Bearcats, the Utes were making the plays to overcome those adversities — until the end.
Jensen noted that his squad is still learning to work through letdowns and not suffer ups and downs throughout games.
“We did a good job defensively. You’re gonna make mistakes, just gotta eliminate (mental errors). … I think we tend to get sped up sometimes, that’s partially something I could help them with,” Jensen said.
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“I thought we played hard, and it’s a shame, because I told them all along, we’re good enough to win these games and they’ve done a better job. You got to forget yourself and figure out how you fit into the team and do that job, and we’ll be fine.”
Despite facing a team that had a significant size advantage, thanks to the 6-foot-11 Miller and 7-2 Mousthapa Thiam, Utah scraped its way to a 40-30 rebounding edge, including 16-8 on the offensive glass.
As a result, the Utes held a 16-11 advantage on second-chance points.
That helped close the gap against a Cincinnati team that shot 44.4% from the field and 17 of 22 at the free-throw line.
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McHenry led four Utah players in double-figures, as he had 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. He also made a team-high three 3-pointers.
Dawes added 16 points and 14 rebounds to continue his recent string of standout games, while Brown (11 points) and Traore (10 points, five rebounds) also scored in double-figures.
“He’s had a great three-game run. I think he’s played really hard,” Jensen said of Dawes. “I think he’s being more aggressive. It was great on him. Again, we continually want him to keep doing that, and hopefully others can play off of him and use that to better their game.”
On Cincinnati’s side, Miller put up 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Thiam had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
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Thomas (16 points) and Keyshaun Tillery (10 points, three assists) also scored in double-figures.
The effort was there for Utah, the execution was not — not enough to win, anyway.
The Bearcats still have aspirations — even if it’s long odds — to make the NCAA tournament, while Utah is seeking to build momentum at the end of a trying season.
It’s moments like these that can be frustrating as the losses pile up — Utah lost its seventh straight with Sunday’s setback — but are a part of a learning curve as Jensen works through the process of rebuilding the Utah program, all while competing in the ultra tough Big 12.
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For now, the Utes will try to rally quickly away from home. Utah will continue a two-game road trip when they face West Virginia on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. MST, FS1).
“We’ll probably take tomorrow (and) watch this game. That’s the one nice thing about the road is you get to spend time together,” Jensen said. “None of us get a chance to go to the people around us to tell us what we want to hear.
“We can go and watch the game by ourselves. And hopefully we can, like I told them after the game, get better individually and collectively.”
