Borha, who had made all three of his 3-point tries up to that point, missed a chance to tie the score and that was it for the Utes.

One of the big keys was the rebounds as the Huskies outrebounded the Utes 40-26 including 23-10 in the second half.

"We got killed on the boards, 14-2 on the offensive boards," Boylen said. "You've got to give them credit for that. They played hard."

Trailing 44-35 at the half, the Utes clawed back into the game with a 10-0 run to tie the score at 51-51 with 13:04 left on a Borha free throw.

The Utes led 64-61 after a drive by Drca for a three-point play. The lead changed hands twice more before Washington tied it at 70 on a free throw by Dentmon with 4:30 left.

The Utes' start couldn't have been much better. Just after the P.A. announcer finished saying, "Remember to stay on your feet until the Utes score," the Utes made the home fans quickly sit down as Green hit Nevill for a layup just six seconds into the game.

Utah sank its first six shots and still led 21-15 after a 3-pointer by Borha, but the Utes failed to score on their next five possessions and the Huskies ran off 10 straight points to grab and took a 44-35 lead into halftime.

"It was a very hard-fought win for our team," said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar. "To their credit they continued to play and fight."

NIT NOTES: In the first game Wednesday night at the Bank of America Arena, High Point defeated New Jersey Tech 76-53 ... Besides Nevill, Kim Tillie and Bryant fouled out while Green and Drca each had four fouls ... After Wednesday night, the all-time series between the Utes and Huskies stands 6-5 in favor of Washington ... The last time the two teams played the Huskies beat the Utes 78-71 in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout in 2005 ... The official name of the tournament is the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament.

---

E-mail: sor@desnews.com