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Show DAILY THE M en Outlast Earns in Opener RORY BRUNNER Chronicle Asst. Sports Editor LAS VLGAS If No. 8 seed Air Force's overtime loss to No. i Wyoming didn't speak of the strength of the Mountain West Conference, the Colorado State-Uta- h matchup hours later reiterated the point As was the case against Colorado State in Salt Lake, missed free throws and mental errors down the stretch kept the game a roll off the rim away from going into overtime. As it played out, No. 2 seed Utah (21-ended the season 6 of the scrappy Rams by a final tally Thursday nij'.lit at the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas. "It's something we've struggled with all year missing free throws and making dumb fouls down the stretch," said senior forward Jeff Johnsen, who turned in a career-higel'lort of 23 points on shooting. "We made fouls we shouldn't have made," said coach Rick Majerus, before burying his head into his hand during the press conference. Although the play on the floor was physical, Majerus said, "We've got to control our emotions." The emotion was evident from the opening tip. The face defense ran them to a Rains' physical, lead, 6 coming fiom forward Brian Greene. Greene scored 29 against Utah in Salt Lake City, but the U held him to 13 for the game Thursday. Utah knotted the score at minutes later. The a Phi! of Cullcn tree throws, as was eapped by pair spuil Utah led i.pi2 w i!h io:s2 remaining. However, "ulU'u's se.it touch from the ftee throw line went south hi hind the aie. Cullen missed three straight 3s and n led i!" ganie o toi 7, iiielu-iinlnnn 3 point t II n lice throws ki pt the Utes withiii tniy ilH'-in st: dt.imv, d vn ; ; 17 w iih 4 y to go. A o Niik .aol son v put the Utes dov. n three, and pair .UM'liiet eeiuk by Hntloii puiled ti;e U to within one. This lime, )lmsen look Hani center Matt Nelson baseline before 7) (12-1- 69-6- h post-gam- e 10-- 5 9-- 2 1 l . :'; it- CHRONICLE UTAH throwing it down and drawing the foul from Williams yet again. Just before the half, the Utes regained the lead on a goaltend. Britton found brother Jeff on a backdoor cut, and Utah led 9 at the break. But CSU would not go away. 30-2- The Rams gained a 3 lead, but Cullen's halfcourt fastball to Jeff Johnsen for a layup tied the game at And just when it seemed the Utes were running away, the Rams caught a break. k Freshman Martin Osimani hit a 3 and a Jeff Johnsen foul But lead. technical on a a Utes the gave Jacobson and the two subsequent Andy Birley free throws cut the lead to three. It didn't matter. Another 3 by Osimani The and one by Jeff Johnsen extended Utah's lead to lead grew to nine minutes later at Riding the free throw shooting of Nelson, CSU cut the lead to 2 with 1:58 in the game. Nelson finished with a from the foul line. game-hig- h 25 points, including More devastating for the U, Brit Johnsen had fouled NelCameron son Britton's fifth. Majerus inserted Koford, who got a pass from Spivcy for a dunk to move the U lead to four. Birley responded with a 3, but Jeff Johnsen sank two free throws to make it 3 with 54 seconds left. CSU missed a shot attempt, and Spivey made only 4 free throws. A trey by Jon Rakiecki cut the U lead to free throw tries, and CSU had Jeff Johnsen made only a chance with 4.3 seconds left. Birley ran the length of the court and casted a trey from five feet behind the line. The attempt came up just short and shot off the backboard and rim. Utah walked away winners. For the Rams, it was an ending to a frustrating season of injuries, suspensions and a team full of young players. "It's an abrupt ending for many teams, but that's how it Weather Could Delay Softball's Home Opener 37-3- 37-3- 7. put-bac- five-poi- nt 48-4- 1. 61-5- 2. 62-6- LANCE GAMERO Chronicle Sports Writer The wet weather, although desperately needed for the state's water needs, may cause some havoc for the U softball team. No. 2 defending NCAA champion Arizona is scheduled to come to Salt Lake City this weekend. It would be a great opportunity for the U softball team to get a team onto Ute Field. But it may have to wait. The poor weather may delay the game if the field cannot be made high-rank- -- 69-0- 6 make Miss Aguilera Can't Compete With Hoops March Madness? Is there any other time that you would abandon "The Simpsons" reruns in favor of such bastions of public interest and affection as Green, Holy Cross, Bowling McNeese State and North Caiolina A&T? That's about as probable as Gary Condit getting to Congress. (D'oh!) But there's something about this time of year that doesn't involve a massive intake of alcohol that inspires me to be glued to the TV just because Lamar and Louisiana-Monro- e are about to get it on. I Yes, am a sports enthusiast and a basketball junkie in general, but even I'll admit that, without ESPN personally sending me a check to boost my motivation, I ordinarily would not spend a Thursday afternoon hoping fervently that UMass takes Xavier to overtime. It's not just me, either. There's a reason these sports networks are ERIC WALDEN is," Layer said. On the other hand, Utah still has life. The Utes advance to the semifinal round of the MWC Tournament. Chronicle Sports rbrunnerchronicle.utah.edu - I ed ed ing Ceremony. As evidenced by the halter top, the pants and the thong bikini strap protruding above them, I was clearly wrong, but I'm still not entirely sure the five bucks I lost on that bet wasn't. worth the eyeful anyway. At any rate, upon seeing her outfit, and knowing the temperature outside, I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that she Either: one, would acknowledge no boundaries in her slutification method of shameless or two, is just plain crazier than anything other than a college basketball tour- 1 hip-ridi- 1 i i' . now basketball broadcasting k that has nothing to do with the fact that the only individuals on the continent who like hockey are either north of the border or simply lacking the logical capabilities of your average 'round-the-cloc- n; 5 nament , 1 it I ? , si ; Fortunately, the college hoops world has finally reached its annual 'Anarchy Stage," and toy lunacy tracking radar can oncejagain fully devote itself to basketball. Seriously folks, is there any cul- - J .A rural phenomenon (othr than the e porn competition staged by pop stars like Christina, Britney and now even a Sheiyl Crow) that can even come close to soft-cor- rf. 1 Phil Cullen (shown in Am earlier action) and the Utes will play SKIING NCAA Championship 38 All Day Anchorage, Alaska vs if -- UNLV in the MEN'S HOOPS at Utah the Utes hope to their home debut soon. Niki Hayhurst and sub-Arct- ic 1 t 6. ' i I l ? ed I was supremely confident that if there was ever a time that Christina Aguilera might alter her longstanding policy of appearing in (not that there's public anything wrong with that), it would be in the outdoor environment of the Olympic Clos- I ' 2-- 68-6- half-nak- I "V. : Editor i..r f - i see SOFTBALL, page 7 66-6- i ( MWC WOMEN'S TENNIS ) vs Idaho State (19-9- ) Utah (21-7- ) Utah a.m. Las Vegas, Nev. 38 38 at 12 CHRONICLE SPORTS EDITOR (3-4- (5-5- ) at 2 p.m. PT The Sports ERIC "WALLY" WALDEN f Ifs that you can take conference ; i champions, pit them against teams that couldn't differentiate between a basketball and a cup of yogurt until the season was over, and still somehow wind you up with drama and intrigue that the most strawber-ry-banana-flavor- two-thir- rivaling the blessed event known as Tournament semifinals. UNLV donkey ! Mall BASEBALL vs Southern Utah Utah o-i- ds see WALDEN, page 7 GYMNASTICS vs Oregon State 7) (10-8- Utah ) 38 at 2 p.m. 39 at 7 Franklin Covey Field EWALDENCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU (5-5-- 1) (6-2- ) p.m. Huntsman Center 581-704- sd 1 |