Utah escapes UCLA on buzzer beater tip-in from Branden Carlson
Branden Carlson was in the right place at the right time for Utah on Sunday evening in the final seconds of a matchup against UCLA. The Utes found themselves down by a point against the Bruins with just 6.6 seconds remaining and the ball.
They got it inbounds to Deivon Smith, who raced down the court with lightning speed to put up a shot attempt high off the glass. Unfortunately, he put a little too much arc on his shot, which bounced off the top of the backboard. That’s when Carlson flew in from behind to grab the rebound and tip in the go-ahead basket.
That gave Utah a 70-69 lead with just 0.2 seconds remaining as it would go on to win.
Carlson finished the game tied with Smith for a team-high 17 points in addition to seven rebounds. Additionally, Smith had 10 assists to complete a double-double while Gabe Madsen and Cole Bajema chipped in 11 points apiece.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Utah as well as a six-game winning streak for UCLA. It also completed a season sweep of the Bruins for the Utes, which previously won in a 90-44 blowout in Salt Lake City on Jan. 11.
It was much closer this time around as things remained neck-and-neck throughout the game. Neither team led by more than seven points the entire way as UCLA took a narrow 36-34 lead into halftime.
The Bruins also suffered a big loss in the first half as leading scorer Sebastian Mack was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul with 9:53 remaining. He appeared to elbow Carlson in the throat at mid-court, sending Carlson to the floor where a trainer came and checked on him before he left the court.
UCLA still managed to lead by as many as six points in the second half and mostly led down the stretch until Keba Keita made a layup to tie things up at 64 with 2:44 remaining. After Utah took a 68-67 lead, the Bruins responded with a jumper from Dylan Andrews to go back in front with a little more than six seconds to go.
That set the stage for the final play from Carlson, sending the Utes home with a victory in the exciting finish. Utah improved to 16-10 (7-8 Pac-12) with the win and will next face Colorado at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday in Boulder.