Utah basketball coach Craig Smith started Saturday by suspending forward Dusan Mahorcic for violation of team rules.
The Utes ended the evening with their 10th straight defeat.
Smith declined to comment on the specifics of Mahorcic’s suspension after Saturday’s loss. The senior big man was averaging 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Utes. Mahorcic was benched for the second half of Wednesday’s game at Washington State.
The suspension was yet another setback for Utah in Smith’s first season as head coach. In addition to Mahorcic’s suspension, the Utes have been hit hard by injuries this season.
They’ve also been no strangers to defeat.
On Saturday night, Washington’s Terrell Brown Jr. scored 30 points to lead the Huskies to a 77-73 double-overtime victory. The loss was Utah’s 10th. The Utes haven’t won since Dec. 21 against Fresno State.
With 3:16 remaining in the second overtime, Cole Bajema’s 3-pointer gave the Huskies a five-point lead. On Utah’s following possession Brown got the defensive rebound of a miss by David Jenkins Jr. then hit a jumper at the other end for a seven-point lead.
The Utes cut their deficit to three and sent Brown, a 78% free-throw shooter, to the line with 13 seconds to go. He made one of two for a four-point lead and the Huskies went on to win. He made 9 of 14 free throws for the game.
Branden Carlson gave Utah a 3-point lead in the first overtime period, making his only 3-point attempt of the game. Brown tied it with a jumper at 0:37 then blocked a potential go-ahead jumper by Lazar Stefanovic, sending the game to the second overtime.
Carlson, in his second game back after missing five games with an appendectomy, led Utah with 18 points. Marco Anthony had 13 points and nine rebounds and Rollie Worster scored 10 points.
Utah (8-14, 1-11) next plays Thursday when the Utes host Oregon State.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
