Recap: Huskies Fall Short, Lose 82-90 at Utah

Jordan Loveridge opened the scoring by draining a three less than a minute into the game, but with 10:00 left in the first half the Utes only led by a single point, 17-16.

After the last first half TV timeout at the 3:26 mark, Washington trailed 30-34, keeping it within a mere two possessions behind hot first-half shooting from Chriss and Andrews as well as double-digit turnovers committed by the Utes.

Dominic Green brought the score to within one by hitting a three right out of the timeout, his second of the night.

After a Chapman turnover on the next play, Chriss grabbed the the lead for Washington with a contested layup.

Perhaps just as importantly, just a few seconds later Chriss drew a second foul on Utah star Jakob Poetl while going up to finish a near-impossible oop. It was a questionable call and both Coach K and the Utah fans let the refs hear it.

Loveridge made it 39-37 Utah by draining his fourth trey of the night, but Andrews immediately silenced the crowd with a three-pointer of his own.

Chris Tucker hit two free throws with less than a minute remaining to reclaim the lead, then a nifty Grandon Taylor pass underneath the basket allowed Bonam to flush home a dunk as the clock expired on the second half.

Utah took a 43-40 lead into the break.

Andrews led all scorers with 15, including 6-9 shooting from the field and 3-3 from beyond the arc. He desperately needed a hot night after struggling from the field over the past two weeks.

Chriss scored 11 points, dished 3 assists, and limited himself to only a single foul.

Dejounte Murray struggled mightily, going 0-5 from the floor before picking up a second foul and missing most of the rest of the half. Dime also picked up two personals.

For Utah, Poetl had a very quiet first 10 minutes before scoring six points shortly before the 2nd foul sent him to the bench. Loveridge led the Utes with 12 points, all via his 4-5 three-point shooting, with Bonam chipping in 11 on perfect 5-5 shooting.

It was both encouraging that the Huskies forced 12 turnovers and discouraging that they still couldn't quite win the half. Probably had something to do with allowing the Utes to shoot 64% from the field.

Utah led 60-56 after a TV timeout at the 11:38 mark, but Chriss trimmed the lead to make it 17 points for the freshman forward. Kuzma quickly answered with an unopposed dunk.

Dime scooped up a loose ball and flushed home a dunk to trim the lead to four, and Dominic Green followed up with his third three of the night to make it 63-64 Utah.

Utah responded with a five point run, as Lorenzo Bonam scored two at the line and then drained a transition three to make it 69-63 and force a Washington with only 8:25 remaining.

Chriss calmed things down for the Huskies with a jumper, but the Utes responded with yet another three from Taylor, his fourth of the night.

Loveridge hit his fifth three to put the Huskies on the ropes, then Loveridge stole the ball underneath Washington's basket to tack on another two points and open up a 77-65 Utah lead.

Utah continued to score at will while Dickerson and Andrews kept the Huskies alive with three-point plays.

Loveridge finally missed a heat-check from the corner and Andrews grabbed the board, starting a break that resulted in Chriss splashing a corner three of his own to make it 76-82 and force a Utah timeout with 4:15 remaining.

With the game within reach Washington promptly gave Poetl an easy basket only to have Murray turn the ball over on the next possession. Poetl easily scored again, and the Huskies committed another turnover.

Andrews reminded everyone that he can fly with a nice dunk with just under three minutes remaining and a Taylor turnover allowed Chriss to posterize a Utah defender to cut the lead to seven.

A Murray-to-Dime lob made it 82-87 Utah with only 1:25 and the Huskies took their second-to-last timeout.

Loveridge missed another corner three, but the Huskies surrendered a critical offensive board and Poetl flushed home a dunk to make it 89-82 with only 22 seconds left and all but seal a Utah victory.

Washington fouled Loveridge, who hit 1-2, but with only five second left Andrews simply let the clock run down. The Huskies fall to 15-9 overall and 7-5 in conference.

It was a monster game for Chriss, who scored 24 points on 10-18 shooting. Andrews ended up with 22 points and five assists, but he also turned the ball over five times.

Murray struggled, with three turnovers and only 4 points on 2-11 shooting. Dominic Green was a bright spot, scoring 14 points, including three three-pointers.

The problem continues to be defense. Utah shot a ridiculous 67% from the field, including 10-17 three-point shooting. Poetl, who will be off to the NBA in the near future, scored 23 on an astounding 11-12 shooting night. His dominance was both cruel and obvious.

Fans and analysts have constantly scrutinized Romar's decision to switch everything on defense, though the prospect of stopping Poetl in the paint without allowing open shooters on the perimeter was always going to be daunting for such a small Washington team.

Added pressure is placed on beating Colorado on Saturday, and beyond that the Huskies will need to play very well at home from here on out to make the tournament.

I'm proud of the team for staying so competitive through this brutal stretch of conference games, but they simply need to start winning to stop this slide down the Pac-12 standings.