Huskies get defensive against Utah

SEATTLE — Nahziah Carter scored 12 points, Washington held Utah to just five second-half field goals, and the Huskies beat the Utes 62-45 on Wednesday night.

The Huskies held the Utes without a field goal for the opening 11:50 of the second half. Parker Van Dyke’s two free throws with 15:12 to play where the only points for Utah until Booth Gach knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:50 remaining.

Gach’s field goal looked like it may be the last for the Utes, as they didn’t make another shot until he hit a floater in the lane with 3:20 to play. Utah finished the second half 5 of 20 from the field, knocking down a 3-pointer and two layups in the final 2:30 with mostly reserves in for Washington.

The Huskies (21-5, 12-1 Pac-12) used a balanced attack as they improved to 13-0 at home. Washington finished with five players in double figures. Noah Dickerson scored 11, and 10 each from David Crisp, Matisse Thybulle and Jaylen Nowell.

Utah began the game with a 3-point barrage, hitting five in the first seven minutes. Sedrick Barefield hit four as the Utes jumped out to an early 17-7 lead. But Barefield went to the bench with his second foul at the 7:47 mark, and the Utes shot just 1 of 8 from deep after that.

The Huskies found their footing in the final minutes of the first half, closing on an 11-2 run to take a 33-27 lead into the break. A layup by Nowell gave UW its first lead, 26-25, with 2:20 remaining.

Barefield didn’t score after his early outburst but still led the Utes (14-12, 8-6) with 12 points.

The Huskies didn’t need much to beat the Utes Wednesday but protected their home court and, with some help, may have a chance to lock up at least a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title with a win Saturday against Colorado.

The Huskies host Colorado on Saturday.