Branden Carlson and David Jenkins Jr. scored 13 points apiece as Utah topped Boston College 68-61 in the championship round opener for both teams in the Sunshine Slam on Saturday night in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Lazar Stefanovic added nine points off the bench, Both Gach and Riley Battin each scored seven and Rollie Worster added six points and seven assists for the unbeaten Utes (4-0).
Jaeden Zackery had a career-high 15 points to lead Boston College (3-2). Makai Ashton-Langford added 11 points and five rebounds, James Karnik scored nine off the bench and Eagles second-leading scorer DeMarr Langford Jr. had eight points.
Boston College dropped its second straight after opening the season with three straight wins.
Utah will face Tulsa in the next round on Sunday night. BC will face Rhode Island earlier Sunday.
The game was tied at 39 with 16:14 remaining before the Utes used a 9-2 push to go up 48-41 on Stefanovic's 3-pointer with 11:49 to play. BC then scored six straight to pull within 48-47 on Frederick Scott's trey at 9:02.
Utah held BC at an arm's length until the final minute when Langford's jumper with 24 seconds remaining made it 64-61. Battin sank four free throws in the final 14 seconds to seal the Utes' victory.
Jenkins' jumper at 13:25 of the opening half capped a game-opening 14-7 run for Utah. The Utes led for most of the period until Quinten Post's 3-pointer with 1:13 left put BC ahead 30-28 amid a 10-2 Eagles run to grab a 32-30 lead at halftime.
--Field Level Media
Utah | Boston College | |
Branden Carlson 13 | Scoring | Jaeden Zackery 15 |
Rollie Worster 7 | Assists | Makai Ashton-Langford 3 |
Marco Anthony 7 | Rebounds | Makai Ashton-Langford 5 |
Riley Battin 4 | Free Throws Made | Makai Ashton-Langford 5 |
Marco Anthony 1 | Steals | Jaeden Zackery 2 |
Branden Carlson 3 | Blocks | Quinten Post 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Utah | 68 | 46.3 | 6-16 | 12-13 | 17 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
Boston College | 61 | 42.3 | 6-12 | 11-15 | 10 | 28 | 1 | 4 | 14 |