Carlson, Anthony guide Utah to 73-62 victory over Colorado

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Branden Carlson and Marco Anthony scored 17 points apiece and Utah cruised to a 73-62 victory over Colorado on Saturday night.

Carlson sank 7 of 13 shots from the floor for the Utes (17-9, 10-5 Pac-12 Conference). He added four rebounds and blocked three shots. Anthony hit 6 of 13 shots with a 3-pointer and grabbed eight rebounds. Ben Carlson had 10 points and eight rebounds.

KJ Simpson totaled 14 points, five rebounds and five assists to pace the Buffaloes (14-12, 6-9). Julian Hammond III scored 11 points off the bench and fellow reserve Luke O’Brien totaled 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Branden Carlson had eight points to lead a balanced attack in the first half and Utah led 38-32 at intermission. The Utes jumped out to a 7-0 lead and pushed their advantage to 21-10 on a dunk by Carlson at the 10:52 mark. Hammond scored seven to help Colorado get within six at halftime. Utah shot 52% overall and made 5 of its 9 3-pointers. The Buffaloes stayed within striking distance by scoring 10 points off of six Utah turnovers.

Colorado’s Lawson Lovering scored the first basket of the second half. Branden Carlson answered with a three-point play, a dunk and a jumper before finishing off a 12-2 run with a 3-pointer to put the Utes up 50-36 with 14:28 left to play. The Buffaloes got no closer than 10 from there.

Utah shot 49% overall to Colorado’s 37%. The Utes, who entered play having hit double-digit 3-pointers in back-to-back games for the first time since the 2018-19 season, sank 6 of 17 against the Buffaloes, who made 4 of 18.

UP NEXT

Utah: The Utes travel to play No. 4 Arizona on Thursday.

Colorado: The Buffaloes travel to play Arizona State on Thursday.

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