Utes beat buzzer, Illini

If Utah's next two trips to Las Vegas this season resemble its first, it's going to be an interesting year for the Utes.

Utah rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to beat No. 20 Illinois 60-58 on Shawn Glover's layup as time expired Friday in the Las Vegas Invitational third round at the Orleans Arena.

With time running out, Jay Watkins rebounded a missed shot by Illinois' Demitri McCamey and delivered a pass in stride to Glover, who had gotten behind the Illini defense. Glover's layup just beat the buzzer.

"This is my first game-winning shot," said Glover, a 6-foot-6-inch freshman guard. "I was worried (Watkins) was going to shoot it himself. But he saw me open and he made a great play."

Easing the sting of a 77-74 home loss to Seattle on Wednesday, the Utes (3-2) earned a spot in the Invitational final against Oklahoma State (5-0) at 7:30 p.m. today. The Cowboys beat Bradley 68-57, getting 19 points from James Anderson.

Utah's other trips to Las Vegas this season will be Jan. 16 against UNLV and March 10 to 13 for the Mountain West Conference Tournament, in which the Utes are the defending champs.

"We haven't been tough enough down the stretch," coach Jim Boylen said of Utah's hot-cold start this season. "But we got some shots to drop, and we got some of our defensive swagger back tonight."

The Utes trailed 32-16 at halftime, shaken by an eight-minute, 20-2 spurt by Illinois. They got back in the game largely by attacking the basket instead of settling for jump shots, and shot 70 percent in the second half.

Despite the rally against a top-20 team, Boylen said the Utes need to make much progress if they hope to repeat as MWC champs in the spring.

"We have to find the grit to finish off possessions," he said. "We did that in the second half, but we need to do better."

Utah also clamped down defensively, holding Illinois to 37 percent shooting in the second half. The Illini made 1 of 9 3-point attempts, missing all five in the second half.

Watkins' presence might have been the Utes' most positive development. The 6-foot-7-inch junior forward missed the first four games with a left hip injury, and he supplied 12 points in his 23-minute debut.

"You can see the athleticism and the toughness," Boylen said. "We need him. He's a tough dude."

Illinois (4-1), which got 19 points by McCamey and 18 by Mike Tisdale, will face Bradley (3-2) at 5 p.m. today.

In the other third-round games, Seattle (3-3) beat Presbyterian (0-5), 67-63, and Wofford (3-3) beat Southern (0-5), 81-66. Southern and Presbyterian will play today at noon. Seattle and Wofford will meet at 2:30 p.m.