Husky men can’t stop Branden Carlson, fall to 0-2 in Pac-12 with loss to Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Everyone inside Jon M. Huntsmen Center knew where the ball was going, but there was nothing the Washington men’s basketball team could do to stop Branden Carlson.

With 8:30 remaining, the 7-foot center scored 21 of the final 24 points for the Utes, including two three-pointers, a handful of layups and a crowd-pleasing putback dunk in traffic.

Carlson’s career-high 34-point offensive assault handed the Huskies a 95-90 defeat on Sunday night.

Washington (8-5, 0-2 Pac-12) threw multiple defenders at Carlson, including Keion Brooks Jr. (25 points and seven rebounds) and backup forward Wilhelm Breidenbach (15 points and six rebounds).

Utah led 20-9 when Washington went on a 23-2 run to take control of the game. Koren Johnson tossed a pass to Braxton Meah for alley-oop dunk that gave UW its first lead, 24-22.

At one point, the Huskies scored 13 straight points and backup guard Nate Calmese, who missed his first six shots, capped the spurt with a three-pointer to go up 32-22.

However, Calmese wasn’t done. He drained threes on UW’s next two offensive trips and Johnson gave the Huskies a 44-29 lead with 2:04 left in the first half.

Washington led 46-35 at the break.

Utah needed 10½ minutes to regain the lead. Utes backup forward Keba Keita spun around Meah inside for a layup despite being fouled to give the Utes a 67-66 lead.

That’s when Carlson went to work and the Huskies didn’t have an answer.

Rollie Worster had 14 points and former UW Husky Cole Bajema added 11 for Utah (11-2, 2-0), which has won eight straight games.

Washington plays Oregon in Thursday’s Pac-12 home opener and hosts Oregon State on Saturday.