Utah holds on for win against Stephen F. Austin
Jakob Poeltl scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting and also had eight rebounds and five blocked shots as the Utes survived a scare from the Lumberjacks before pulling away for a 57-50 win in the NCAA Tournament round of 64 at Portland, Ore.
Jordan Loveridge added 12 points for fifth-seeded Utah (25-8), which will face either Georgetown or Eastern Washington in Saturday’s round of 32. Delon Wright contributed 11 points, six rebounds and three steals as the Utes won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2005.
Ty Charles scored 14 points for No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin (29-5), which recovered from a 12-point deficit to make it close down the stretch. Thomas Walkup had 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Lumberjacks, who shot just 33.3 percent from the field.
Stephen F. Austin trailed by eight before Walkup scored two baskets in a 15-second span to make it a four-point margin with 3:33 left and Charles’ 3-pointer cut Utah’s lead to 52-49 with 1:27 to go. The margin was two when Delon Wright stepped to the line and hit two free throws with 30.7 seconds left to give the Utes a 54-50 lead and Isaiah Wright added three free throws in the final 15.9 seconds to seal it.
Utah held an 11-point lead late in the first half before the Lumberjacks scored the next four to trail 26-19 at the break and then opened the second half with six straight points to pull within one. Loveridge hit a 3-pointer as the Utes answered with a 17-6 surge to open up a 12-point lead before Stephen F. Austin scored nine of the next 10 points to move within 44-40 with 6:20 left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Delon Wright reached 1,000 career points with the second of his two free throws with 30.7 seconds left. … The Lumberjacks were 5-of-26 from 3-point range. … Neither team shot a free throw in the first half before combining for 34 in the second.
