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Utah Shows Plenty of Depth

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Times Staff Writer

In the 11 years that Kelvin Sampson has been coach, Oklahoma has built its identity on tough, hard-nosed defense, and holding down Utah’s 7-foot Andrew Bogut in Saturday’s NCAA tournament second-round game presented the ultimate challenge.

The Sooners were physical with Bogut and his teammates and, in a sense, accomplished their mission in limiting the sophomore center to 10 points. They didn’t count on Marc Jackson banking in three-point shots or Justin Hawkins and Bryant Markson soaring over them for rim-rattling dunks.

Utah showed its toughness and proved it isn’t a one-man show as four players scored in double figures in a convincing 67-58 victory before a sellout crowd of 13,571 at the McKale Center.

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The win by the Utes, seeded sixth in the Austin Regional, was more impressive than the final margin. In advancing to Friday’s regional semifinal against Kentucky, Utah (29-5) never trailed as Hawkins had 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, Jackson scored 17 points and Markson had 16 points.

“You can’t really explain the feeling you have,” said Jackson, a senior guard who didn’t play last season after clashing with then-coach Rick Majerus. “Sixteen teams left. It’s just one of those opportunities that doesn’t come by too often.”

The smaller Utes also outrebounded third-seeded Oklahoma (25-8) by six despite the presence of 6-foot-9, 235-pound Taj Gray and 6-8, 259-pound Kevin Bookout inside. Gray led the Sooners with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but Bookout got into early foul trouble and had four points in 19 minutes.

Much of that tough play on the boards was the result of Hawkins, an undersized 6-5 sophomore from Lakewood Mayfair High, who either beat the Sooner big men to missed shots or simply snatched rebounds away from them.

“He was a warrior, especially defensively and on the glass,” Utah Coach Ray Giacoletti said.

It was a long day for Oklahoma. On the Utes’ first two possessions, Markson went back door for a dunk and Jackson banked in a three-pointer as the shot clock was running down.

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Jackson made another three-pointer and Utah made its first five shots in taking a 13-2 lead even though Bogut rarely touched the ball.

“I thought our defense was good and Jackson throws that bank shot in off the glass,” Sampson said. “Things kind of went south on us for about four or five minutes.”

The Sooners, who shot 31.8%, got as close as 20-16 but would trail by as many as 15 points. Bogut, who often drew two defenders, was content to find either Hawkins or Markson cutting behind the aggressive Oklahoma defense for dunks as Utah shot 76.5% in the final 20 minutes.

“I was just looking to pass the ball and we had some of the best finishes I’ve seen in a while,” said Bogut, who had 11 rebounds and seven assists.

The only time the Utes appeared frustrated was near the end when Hawkins drew a technical for swinging his arm back at Lawrence McKenzie after a hard foul.

“Off the record, I was excited,” Giacoletti said, tongue in cheek. “The last half of the conference season, that’s the way people played us because they’re trying to find a way to frustrate us.”

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