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Utah Walks Past Air Force, 42-38
Utes advance to semifinals.
March 13, 2003
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Tim Frost scored a team-high 12 points, including four free throws in the final 14 seconds to lead top-seeded Utah past No. 8 Air Force 42-38 in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament Thursday night. Also for Utah (24-6), Nick Jacobson added 10 points as the Utes took their first and only lead of the game with 2:28 left after trailing as many as eight in the first half. For Air Force (12-16), which was 3-of-16 from 3-point range, A.J. Kuhle led with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Joel Gerlach added 10 points. The Falcons had a chance to tie it trailing 38-36 with :15 left, but Gerlach's wild layup attempt only hit the backboard. Utah now plays in the semifinals against the winner of the last game of the day between No. 5 San Diego State-No. 4 UNLV. After trailing 21-18 at halftime, the Utes tied it 23-23 with 17:32 left in the game. The Falcons then went on a 5-0 run and did not trail until the Utes finally took the lead on two free throws by Bryant Markson with 2:28 left, 35-33. Then after two Frost free throws with 1:09 left, Utah's Marc Jackson hit 1-of-2 free throws with :38 left to make it 38-33. After Kuhle converted a 3-point play with :24 left, Utah's Nick Jacobson missed two free throws, setting up Gerlach's missed layup. For the game, Utah was 12-of-31 from the field for 38.7 percent, while Air Force was 13-of-42 for 31 percent. From the free-throw line, the Utes made 14-of-25, while the Falcons were 9-of-10. Air Force, which had four assists in the game, built its largest lead of the game, 12-4, with 13:39 left. Utah never came closer than the halftime score of 21-18. The Falcons had three shot clock violations in the half.
Utah was playing without senior forward Britton Johnsen, who is out with mono for the Mountain West Tournament. Johnsen is averaging 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this season.
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