Utes again fail to defend 3-pointer

On a night the largest crowd of the year came out to see Andrew Bogut's number unfurled from the Huntsman Center rafters, Bogut's fellow Aussie, Luke Nevill, tried his darndest to lead Utah to a win over Air Force.

Nevill scored 21 points and made a big three-point play in the final minute to put the Utes ahead by two. But in a game eerily similar to Wednesday night's overtime loss to Colorado State, the Falcons hit a big 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining and then watched the Utes look clueless in their last possession.

This time, the game didn't go into overtime as Jacob Burtschi's 3-pointer from the left angle with 18 seconds left gave the Falcons a 52-51 lead and eventually a victory.

The Utes had a chance to win the game themselves, but just like the last play of regulation Wednesday, Ute guard Johnnie Bryant dribbled around by himself before flinging up a poor shot. The fadeway 15-footer bounced off the rim with two seconds left and the Falcons ran out the clock.

Afterwards, Ute coach Ray Giacoletti didn't want to single out Bryant or Shaun Green, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 32.7 seconds left that could have almost iced the game for Utah.

Instead he blamed Utah's poor defense down the stretch.

"It wasn't the missed free throw or not making the extra pass on the last possession," he said. "It was not being able to get stops. I think we got one stop in the last six (possessions)."

The Utes had clawed back from a seven-point deficit midway through the second half and matched the Falcons basket for basket from the 7:32 mark to inside the final minute.

Finally after Nevill sank an inside shot and converted a free throw to make it 51-49 with 53 seconds left, the Utes got a stop when Matt McCraw missed a 15-footer.

On the Utes' possession, Green was fouled early. Even though Green has played the third most minutes on the team and was shooting 71.4 percent from the line, he had only attempted 14 free throws all season.

His shot bounced off the back of the iron, and the Falcons came down and ran a set to free Burtschi on the left angle.

"We talked about how you cannot give a three up," Giacoletti said. "That's two nights in a row we've done that."

The Utes still had 16 seconds left for a winning play. But just like Wednesday, the play looked like the Johnnie Bryant Show.