Branden Carlson’s latest career night sparks a rally — and win — for Utes over Huskies

Fifth-year senior Branden Carlson added to his Utah legacy Sunday.

In the process, the All-Pac-12 big man also helped deliver a comeback victory for the Runnin’ Utes in a 95-90 win over Washington at the Huntsman Center.

Carlson scored 27 of his career-high 34 points after halftime to help Utah rally from an 11-point deficit at intermission in a dogfight of a ballgame.

“Coach got on my case a little bit at halftime for just being a little soft,” Carlson said. “I kind of took it as a challenge to just be a little bit more aggressive and you know, I needed to be better.”

The Bingham High product scored 19 of Utah’s 21 points as it turned a 69-68 deficit with 8:47 to play into an 89-81 lead with 1:55 remaining. He also had seven rebounds and a career-best seven assists for the Utes (11-2, 2-0 Pac-12), who finished with a perfect 6-0 record in December.

“When you get two career highs in points and assists, you’re doing something right,” Smith said of Carlson. “We rode him, we played through him in every way in that second half, we didn’t take him off the floor.”

Key takeaways

Top performers: Branden Carlson scored a career-high 34 points — 27 of those points after halftime — while adding seven rebounds and a career-best seven assists.

Keion Brooks Jr. had 25 points and seven for Washington.

Key stretch I: Utah, which trailed by as many as 12 points several times early in the second half after a first-half slump, went on a 21-8 run over six-minute stretch to finally go back out in front. From there, it was a dogfight the rest of the way.

Second-half shooting: Utah shot 68.8% from the field in the second half to rally, while holding the Huskies to 45.9%. The Utes ended up shooting 52.9% for the game, compared to 39.7% for the Huskies.

Foul disparity: In the first half, Utah was called for 13 personal fouls, compared to just six for Washington. It evened out more in the second half when the Utes re-established their assertiveness, as both teams finished with 19 personal fouls.

It took an ugly 10-minute stretch in the first half for the need for Utah to rally — the Huskies, after falling behind 20-9 just nine minutes into the contest, went into the break leading 46-35 after outscoring the Utes 37-15 to end the first half.

There was a noticeable foul disparity in the first half — Utah was called for 13 personal fouls, while Washington (8-5, 0-2 Pac-12) was called for six. By game’s end both teams were called for 19 a piece, but the way things were being called in the first half played its part in how Utah got out of rhythm.

Utah’s head coach took responsibility for how the Utes struggled to handle the foul situation.

“The officiating, whether you agree or disagree, they have a very difficult job and they gotta call it the best that they can and we got to be able to adjust and control it the way we need to control it. I lost my poise, I need to be better for our guys. And I thought our guys lost their focus.”

Smith also credited the way Utah ended the half, though, in helping the Utes turn things around — in the final minute of the first half, Cole Bajema and Rollie Worster hit 3-pointers to establish some of that rhythm back.

The coach also challenged Carlson at intermission to lead this veteran group — and he responded on a night where other post players like Lawson Lovering and Keba Keita had their struggles.

“We challenged Branden at halftime, in a big-time way, and boy did he respond. I mean, he owned it and our guys played through him,” Smith said. “Our guys have all the belief in the world in what he can do, and that’s what the great ones do.”

The uptick in intensity and focus was immediately apparent for Utah after the break, even as Washington pushed its lead to 12 on several occasions.

Eventually, the Utes captured the momentum and whittled that lead down — and it got contributions from across the lineup.

• Gabe Madsen had a double-double with 11 points (including three 3-pointers) and 11 rebounds, while adding two assists and a steal.

• Worster was Utah’s second-leading scorer with 14 points while also contributing six rebounds, five assists (to only one turnover), two steals and a blocked shot.

• Bajema scored 11 points — most of those in the first half — while showing assertiveness on the offensive end.

• Deivon Smith, in his fourth game since becoming eligible in mid-December, scored five straight points during one mini-second half spurt to help Utah trim down its deficit. He finished with nine points, seven rebounds, six assists and a steal.

That helped counter a strong effort from the visiting Huskies, who led for nearly as long as Utah and were paced by a 25-point, seven-rebound effort from forward Keion Brooks Jr.

Once Utah’s veteran group got the momentum going into Utah’s favor in the team’s sixth straight game at home, though, it was the Utes who eventually emerged victorious.

“I think this group, I’ve said it so many times, some veteran guys (that) is I think the difference this year and aren’t going to get down when things aren’t going your way,” Madsen said.

The win gave Utah a sweep of the Pac-12’s two Washington schools — the Runnin’ Utes beat Washington State by 22 on Friday — ahead of a two-game road trip to Arizona State and No. 4 Arizona next weekend.

“I’m really proud of how we grinded it out. I’m not sure how to describe that game, I’m really not,” Craig Smith said. “But anytime you can get a sweep, obviously you’ve got to take care of business at home.”

What’s next?

The Utes will hit the road for the first time in a month with a two-game swing through Arizona.

Utah will play at Arizona State on Thursday (9 p.m. MST, ESPN2) before facing No. 4 Arizona on Saturday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).