Utah’s Van Dyke comes up as improbable hero in key win over UCLA

SALT LAKE CITY — From role player to hero, Utah’s Parker Van Dyke has done it all.

On Thursday, Van Dyke was everything Utah needed in a down-to-the-wire finish against the visiting UCLA Bruins in an important conference matchup with potential postseason implications on the line for both teams.

Van Dyke scored a career high 18 points in an 84-78 win over the Bruins to give Utah its fifth consecutive win — the most since Utah’s regular season finish in 2015 when the team won its last seven games — and another resume-building win to help convince the NCAA committee that it is worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid.

But it was Van Dyke’s performance in the final minutes of the game that resonated most…