LAS VEGAS — Roughly 3 1/2 months after their opener here back in November, the Washington Huskies walked off the T-Mobile Arena court for the last time this season.
The No. 10 seed Washington men’s basketball team fell behind by double digits in the first 10 minutes against No. 7 seed Utah and a last-minute rally fell short during a 98-95 defeat Wednesday night in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
UW had difficulty slowing down the red-hot shooting Utes, which connected on 14 of 26 3-pointers, while the Huskies were 10 of 26 behind the arc.
The Huskies, who finished 11th in the Pac-12 at 4-16, wraps up the season at 5-21 and tied with the 1993-94 UW team for the school’s fewest wins in a season.
With a .192 winning percentage, Washington ranks fifth all-time in the Pac-12 with the worst winning percentage since the 1968-69 season.
It took Mikael Jantunen just 16 seconds to drain his first 3-pointer, and the Utes peppered the Huskies with perimeter shots that landed like haymakers all game long.
The game turned on a 3-pointer from Alfonso Plummer who also drew a foul on Hameir Wright and connected the ensuing free throw for a four-point play that gave Utah a 10-8 lead and sparked a 23-4 run.
Plummer ended the spurt with — you guessed it, another 3-pointer — that put the Utes up 29-12 with 10:55 left.
Washington, which trailed by 17 points in the first half, went into halftime down 47-35.
The Huskies were down by 19 points (87-68) in the final five minutes before cutting their deficit to single digits with 2:06 left.
Quade Green, a senior point guard, scored a career-high 31 points in what’s likely his final game at UW. (The NCAA granted all athletes an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.)
Jamal Bey added 18 points, Erik Stevenson had 14 points and Nate Roberts finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
Washington’s quartet of stars was outpaced by a balanced Utah attack in which every starter scored in double figures.
Timmy Allen had 24 points, Plummer 21, Branden Carlson 12, Riley Battin 11 and Jantunen 10 for Utah (12-12), which advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals to face No. 2 USC.
For the Huskies, it was their second straight loss in the tournament opener.
Washington begins an uncertain offseason needing to bolster a thin frontline that is expected to lose senior forward Hameir Wright.
The Huskies bring in McDonald’s All-American Jackson Grant, a 6-foot-10 forward from Olympia (Wash.) High.
