Lots of heroes in comeback victory

Who’d have ever believed that a Utah team down 10 points at Air Force would come back and win?
Certainly not me. I knew they COULD do it, but the way they were playing, in a tough environment against a methodical Falcon team, it didn’t seem very likely.
But coach Jim Boylen gave the Utes a halftime talk in which he identified what the players did wrong in the first half, told them what they needed to do and tried to motivate them.
As Carlon Brown said, “Coach always gives a good speech at haltime.”
If you’re looking for a hero in the come-from-behind victory, the Utes had several.
Start with Johnnie Bryant, who sank four 3-pointers in a six-minute stretch to push the Utes from an 8-point deficit to a 5-point lead.
How about Luka Drca, who directed the Ute offense over the last 16 minutes in which he scored 12 points, including a pair of key 3-pointers from the top of the key.
Then there was the freshman Brown, who made two key baskets in the lane down the stretch and sank a pair of big free throws with six minutes left, for the first time in who knows how long. For good measure he pulled down 11 rebounds.
Speaking of rebounds, Shaun Green had a season-high 10 boards. He only scored 6 points, but did all the little things again, making a couple of steals a couple of key assists and getting 5 big offensive rebounds.
Tyler Kepkay didn’t have one of his better nights, but made a huge 15-footer with 33 seconds left and the Utes up by just four.
Lawrence Borha struggled in making just seven points on 2- of-9 shooting, but all seven came early in the second half to start the Utes’ comeback.
And finally Luke Nevill. His biggest contribution might have been the technical foul he got late in the first half. Perhaps it lit a fire under the Utes for their 47-point second half. He also made 5 of 6 field goals and 13 points.
The win puts the Utes at 5-4 in the Mountain West Conference standings and brings them back to even in the “plus-minus” standings. The Utes now have two road victories to go along with their two home losses. If they win all of their remaining home games and lose their road games, they’ll finish 8-8.