Utah rides Poeltl to OT win over Cal in Pac-12 semifinals
On a night such as Friday, with so much riding on the outcome, it helps to have the league’s best player on your side.
That was what Utah basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak had to be thinking. Because he kept going to Jakob Poeltl, his 7-foot sophomore center, in the Utes’ Pac-12 Conference tournament semifinal against California at the MGM Grand Garden.
Poeltl, the Pac-12’s Player of the Year, delivered. He finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, and guided his team to an 82-78 overtime win over Cal and into the championship game at 7:15 p.m. today against Oregon.
“It’s March Madness at its finest,” Krystkowiak said of a game that featured 16 lead changes and nine ties. “I’m proud of our guys for not giving in. Cal’s a talented team, and it was a heavyweight fight.”
But the Utes wouldn’t have been able to lean on their big man had it not been for a heads-up play at the end of regulation by Lorenzo Bonam.
Jabari Bird had scored on a putback of Jaylen Brown’s missed layup and was fouled with 4.3 seconds to play. Bird, who had 13 points, made the free throw to put Cal ahead 70-68. Bonam, one of Utah’s quickest players, got the ball in his backcourt, speed dribbled into the Cal end, beat two defenders, and his layup just beat the buzzer to force overtime.
“We knew five seconds was a lot of time, and we had one of our fastest players with the ball,” Krystkowiak said. “He made a great play.”
In OT, the Utes went to Poeltl virtually every trip, and he was aggressive posting up, backing down his defender, be it Kameron Rooks or Kingsley Okoroh, and finishing strong at the rim. Poeltl had five of his 29 points in OT. And as was the case late in regulation, a Utah guard made a smart play.
This time it was Brandon Taylor, who held his dribble in the frontcourt, turned the corner and found Kyle Kuzma cutting to the basket. Taylor hit him with a perfect pass in stride, and Kuzma’s layup with 12.9 seconds left gave the Utes an 80-75 lead.
Tyrone Wallace, who led Cal with 26 points, hit a 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds to go to cut the lead to 80-78. But Jordan Loveridge sealed the win with two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining.
The Utes started quickly, building a 10-point lead 3:32 into the game. But Cal looked to Wallace, and he was in a groove, finishing with 13 first-half points.
Meanwhile, the Golden Bears’ defense picked up their intensity and Utah’s shots stopped dropping. The Utes shot just 37 percent for the opening 20 minutes, as Cal took a 37-33 lead into the locker room.
But Utah battled back, and though it took longer than the Utes would have liked, they are going to play for the title, even if it means doing so on short rest.
“We’ll see you later on today,” Krystkowiak said as Friday had turned into Saturday.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj
