Utah’s premier home matchup of nonconference play ended up being defined by one half wherein the Runnin’ Utes were dominated, followed by another half wherein they fought their way back into the contest.
In the end, Saint Mary’s made enough plays down the stretch to hand the hard-charging Utes a 72-63 loss at the Huntsman Center on Saturday evening.
3 takeaways
It took a half for Utah to adjust to the Gaels’ style of play. Utah fell behind by as many as 18 points in the first half as it shot 23.5% from the field in the opening 20 minutes. That included only making 2 of 10 3-point attempts as the physical Gaels controlled the tempo.
While the Utes were able to get Saint Mary’s into some foul trouble, Utah didn’t help itself much at the free-throw line, making 4 of 8 in the first half and 10 of 17 for the game.
The Utes finally pushed their way back into the game, though, with an 18-3 run early in the second half, and they ended up shooting 53.3% in the final 20 minutes.
Gabe Madsen led the charge with 15 points, while Miro Little added 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
The Gaels never gave up the lead, though, and were paced by Paulius Murauskas, who had a game-high 29 points and seven rebounds, while hitting 6 of 10 3-pointers.
He made three big ones late in the game, two after the Utes had pulled within a possession each time.
Finishing at the rim was a struggle. The Utes had a difficult time getting in-close shots to fall. They were 5 of 16 on layup or dunk attempts during the first half, compared to 1 of 8 on jumpers.
Saint Mary’s, meanwhile, was 5 of 10 on layups in the first half.
Utah was slightly better inside in the second half, making 8 of 19 layups or dunks, but in a game wherein the Utes were trying to rally, it was costly.
There was a Caleb Lohner sighting in a Runnin’ Ute uniform. A week after the Utah football team wrapped up its season with a win at UCF, Caleb Lohner was suited up for the Runnin’ Utes.
The former BYU and Baylor forward who played tight end this season for Kyle Whittingham is a basketball walk-on and has been on the roster all year, though it wasn’t a certainty when/if he would join the program.
Lohner checked in for the first time with 14:20 left in the first half. He ended up playing 20 minutes, both at the 4 and the 5, and had eight points and five rebounds, though he missed all three of his free throw attempts.
What’s next
The Utes (6-2) will have a week off before hosting Radford next Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Huntsman Center.
Game time is set for 5 p.m. MST. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard on 700 AM.