Jan. 14, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Nick Jacobson scored 25 points and tied a school record for 3-pointers with seven and Jeff Johnsen scored six of his 14 points in the final 28 seconds as the Utes won their ninth straight, 76-70 over San Diego State Monday night.
Trace Caton added 13 points and Britton Johnsen had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Utes (12-3, 2-0 Mountain West), who have won 13 in a row against San Diego State (10-6, 0-2) and 22 of their last 23 in the series.
The Aztecs led 65-63 on Brandon Smith's fallaway jumper with 4:02 to play, but Jacobson hit his seventh 3-pointer in a 7-0 run that gave Utah a 70-65 lead. Jeff Johnsen and Caton had steals and Britton Johnsen had a blocked shot on three consecutive Aztec possessions down the stretch.
Utah held SDSU scoreless from 4:02 until Mike Mackell made a free throw with 0:16 to play. Johnsen and Travis Spivey made six consecutive free throws in the last 14 seconds to seal the victory.
Tony Bland rebounded from an 0-of-10 shooting night at Brigham Young Saturday to score 22 points and Mackell had 16 for San Diego State, which lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Utes were 14-of-26 from beyond the arc.
The Aztecs outscored the Utes 36-17 in the lane and shot 52 percent, but could not score when it mattered most.
SDSU also failed to stop Jacobson in Utah's motion passing game. The sophomore guard, who has scored 51 points in his last two games, made 7-of-10 3-pointers, matching Phil Dixon's Utah record set Dec. 22, 1990, against Wichita State.
Utah extended its home conference winning streak to 46, the longest in the nation, and moved into a tie with Wyoming for first place in the Mountain West.
The Aztecs started the second half with a 10-3 run to lead 44-42 on Mackell's turnaround. Neither team led by more than four points in a topsy-turvy second half that featured six lead changes and three ties.
Utah led 18-4 before Bland sparked a 19-2 run with seven points and SDSU was up 23-20. Utah fought back behind Caton's scoring and led 39-34 at halftime.