Utah put up a decent fight for almost 30 minutes of game action Saturday night against one of the Pac-12’s best teams, but eventually ran out of gas and fell 82-64 to No. 6 Arizona at the McKale Center in Tucson.
Arizona improved to 14-1 with the win, while Utah fell to 8-9.
Here are 3 keys to Utah’s loss:
• Utah trailed by just a point with about 12 minutes left, but a 21-0 run by the Wildcats put an end to the Runnin’ Utes’ upset hopes. Utah couldn’t stop Azuolas Tubelis inside, giving up a career-high 32 points to Arizona’s 6-foot-11 forward. Tubelis, who played until 1:56 remained in the game, was 14 of 24 from the field.
• Playing without star center Branden Carlson, who was out after having an appendectomy a week ago, Utah was outscored 56-28 in the paint and outrebounded 35-30. Arizona went inside after shooting 1 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half, and finished 3 of 18 from beyond the arc.
• Minnesota transfer Both Gach came off the bench in the second half to score eight quick points and get the Utes within a point at 46-45 with 12:22 remaining, but the Utes went more than seven minutes without scoring and saw the Wildcats run away with it. Gach led the Utes with 12 points, while Dusan Mahorcic and Lahat Thioune added 10 each.