SALT LAKE CITY — The UC Irvine men’s basketball team kept surging but Utah kept answering, ultimately outlasting the Anteaters, 84-75, in a first-round game of the NIT on Tuesday night.

UCI trailed by as much as 17 points midway through the second half but made one final push to try to extend its season. While holding Utah scoreless for more than two minutes, the Anteaters put together a 9-0 run to get within 77-73 with 2:05 left after Justin Hohn and Derin Saran made 3-pointers just 13 seconds apart.

The Utes won it from the free-throw line from there, though, as Branden Carlson hit four straight and Utah went 7 for 8 from the line over the final two minutes. The Anteaters made just one more basket over the final 2:05.

Carlson finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Utes (20-14). Gabe Madsen added 16 points (3 for 6 from 3-point range), seven rebounds and five assists. Deivon Smith had 13 points, six rebounds and 10 assists.

The Anteaters (24-10) were led by Saran (16 points, five rebounds, two steals), while Devin Tillis added 14 points and seven rebounds. Bent Leuchten had 13 points and six rebounds and Pierre Crockrell II rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, five assists and two steals.

“We did battle and I am impressed with that. I am not surprised at all as that is the makeup of this team,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “They continue to have belief in each other and to have the spirit to fight like we did. Credit to Utah, they played really well tonight. We had something to do with that at times. I didn’t think our defensive performance was really good.”

Utah went ahead 25-17 in the game’s early going, but UCI fought its way back into the game by crashing the offensive boards. A pair of Tillis 3-pointers highlighted an 11-2 UCI run that gave the Anteaters a 28-27 lead with 5:54 left in the first half. A Saran layup gave UCI a 40-37 lead with 1:38 left, but the Utes hit a trio of 3-pointers – the last a deep one by Madsen as time expired – for a 46-40 halftime advantage.

Utah – which shot 55.2% from the field and held UCI to 41.1% – extended its lead to 10 points early in the second half then used a 13-4 run to extend the margin to 69-52 with 10:14 left.

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UCI outrebounded Utah 40-36, but the Utes’ size led to 11 blocked shots and that proved critical as the Anteaters saw their season come to an end.

“I am really excited about what this team has done together,” said Turner, whose team won the Big West regular-season title for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons before falling in the conference tournament semifinals. “I am truly impressed with these guys. It’s not easy to explain if you aren’t a part of it, but these guys are connected through the experiences that we have had.”

Utah will host Iowa, a 91-82 winner against Kansas State on Tuesday, in a second-round game that will be played either Saturday or Sunday.