Utah edges out Western Kentucky to advance to NIT Championship
New York City, NY – The NIT tournament is underway at Madison Square Garden and did not disappoint those in attendance Tuesday night. The Utah Utes faced off against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the tournament semifinals. For true basketball fans this game would have all the characteristics you need for an instant classic. With 13 lead changes throughout the game it was a toss up as to who was going to come out victorious. This game would go down to the wire and would be decided in the last 47.5 seconds.
Utah vs Western Kentucky was a great semifinal matchup from start to finish. Photo By Jamon Bolton
Both teams came out shooting poorly and I can attest that to playing in the Garden, which can be a little intimidating to players who haven’t played in the arena before. After settling down it was Utah that would come out with the win 69-64. Due to a pair of charges drawn by David Collette and Justin Bibbins, and a 3-pointer by Tyler Rawson the Utes will move on to play Penn State on Thursday for the championship.
That’s the whole goal we’ve had the whole time is come to New York and enjoy ourselves, and we thought the whole time we could win this thing and bring back the trophy. We’re there. We stick by our word this time.
-David Collette, Utah Senior
With the game hanging in the balance David Collette stepped in front of Hilltoppers star Justin Johnson to draw the charge. Soon after, Utah senior Justin Bibbins drew another charge and pretty much sealed the game with a pair of free throws that put the game out of reach for good. Utah got some solid minutes from their seniors, with Bibbins and Collette leading the charge. Bibbins poured in 19 Points, going 12-12 on his free throw attempts. Collette was more the blue collar worker getting his hands dirty keeping WKU big men under wraps all night and adding 13 points and 7 boards to the mix. Utah’s Sedrick Barefield contributed 14 points and provided some much needed pressure defense at the top of the Utah zone defense. The Utes will need him to continue this if they want to take home the NIT championship.
Utah came out focused and managed to get the win vs a tough WKU team. Photo by Jamon Bolton
This victory was special for guys like Justin Bibbins and David Collette who are both seniors playing their last games for the school. Before leaving Salt Lake City Collette said they were going home with the trophy. Collette said “That’s the whole goal we’ve had the whole time is come to New York and enjoy ourselves, and we thought the whole time we could win this thing and bring back the trophy. We’re there. We stick by our word this time.”
Utah faces a strong Penn State team who blew out Mississippi State at the other end of the semifinals bracket. It doesn’t appear as if Utah will be intimidated by Penn State as they have already beat some formidable opponents this year. They have beaten Boston College of the ACC, PAC 12 top seed USC and Oklahoma State of the Big 12. Let’s see if they can make magic happen once again and bring an NIT championship back to Salt Lake City.
Cover Photo: Times Union