SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – Lazar Stefanovic had 15 points and six assists, Branden Carlson had his third double-double of the season and Utah beat California 61-46 on Sunday, the Runnin’ Utes’ fifth consecutive win in the series.
Carlson finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks for Utah (16-9, 9-5 Pac-12).
Jaxon Brenchley converted a three-point play, hit a 3-pointer and made a layup before Stefanovic hit a 3-pointer to cap an 11-0 spurt that made it 22-18 with five minutes left in the first half and Utah never again trailed. Stefanovic made a layup and another 3-pointer as the Runnin’ Utes scored seven of the final nine points in the first half to take a five-point lead into intermission.
Cal didn’t make a field goal for the first six-plus minutes of the second half and Utah ripped off a 12-1 run — including a pair of 3’s by Carlson — to make it 41-25 with 14 minutes to play. The Golden Bears trailed by double figures the rest of the way.
Cal (3-20, 2-10 Pac-12) is winless away from home this season (0-8 on the road, 0-2 at neutral sites) and has lost seven consecutive games following back-to-back wins over Colorado on New Year’s Eve and Stanford on Jan. 6. The Golden Bears have scored fewer than 50 points in each of their last four games and are averaging 46.5 over that span.
Lars Thiemann led Cal with 12 points and Kuany Kuany scored 11.
Gabe Madsen, Utah’s second-leading scorer (11.7 per game) on 37.3% shooting from 3-point range, did not play for the second straight game. He is expected to miss at least a month with a lower leg injury.
Ben Carlson added 11 points, including three 3-pointers, for the Utes.
Utah wraps up a three-game home stand Thursday against Colorado at 8:00 p.m.
