Shooting lacks charity

AUSTIN, Texas — When all was said and done, Utah could have used more contributions and a steadier hand at the charity stripe.

Kentucky refused to take pity. The Wildcats capitalized on both shortcomings to win Friday night's NCAA regional semifinal 62-52—extending their streak of tournament victories over the Utes to six straight, dating back to 1993.

So much for a sweet Sweet 16 appearance.

Unlike last week's 67-58 upset of Oklahoma, when Utah had four players score 10 or more points, only Andrew Bogut and Marc Jackson reached double-figures against Kentucky , with 20 and 10, respectively. Justin Hawkins, who had a team-high 20 points and 14 rebounds in the victory over the Sooners, had four and six this time around.

"It's frustrating whenever I don't get the numbers I want to get," said Hawkins, who felt 12 points and eight rebounds were within his grasp. Opportunities to do so, he insists, were there.

Statistical support to back Bogut and Jackson, however, wasn't Utah's only problem.

The Utes shot a season-low 50 percent from the free-throw line, missing 14 attempts.

"You miss free throws and you can't win games like this," said Hawkins, who felt the Utes got some good looks at the basket but ultimately were doomed by poor foul shooting.

Utah coach Ray Giacoletti accepted the blame for playing guys too many minutes.

Jackson agreed that fatigue may have been a factor, but there were other reasons as well.

"I think we needed to focus a little bit more," he said. "It was just one of those nights we didn't shoot very well."

Putting the ball in the basket proved troublesome from all points. Utah's 52 points were its second-lowest of the season.

"Our offense never got into sync," guard Tim Drisdom said. "We got out into transition with plays that we normally make and free throws that we normally make, but we did not do it tonight."

Until Jackson's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, no Utah player other than Bogut had made two baskets.

The significance thereof?