Utah’s second-half rally wasn’t enough to overcome a lethargic first half in losing to Saint Mary’s

Utah had plenty to lament from its matchup against Saint Mary’s on Saturday at the Huntsman Center — at least a half’s worth.

The Utes weren’t running out of the gate and fell behind 39-22 at halftime, and while they were able to go on a big run in the second half and make it a one-possession game on three occasions in the final four minutes, they fell 72-63.

“Especially the first half, I just felt like we had so many crazy mistakes on both sides of the ball,” Utah coach Craig Smith said, “but I was proud of how we self-corrected.

“I thought we played a lot more spirited, obviously, in the second half. We made some adjustments right before the half, and certainly in the second half, that really helped us.”

There was a lot to like about Utah’s second-half effort — the Utes shot 55.2% after the break, and they only turned the ball over three times in the final 20 minutes.

Utah also played more energized behind a raucous crowd that showed up for the late afternoon contest between two teams looking for a resume-building victory.

Saint Mary’s, though, rode a physical effort and a career game from sophomore forward Paulius Murauskas, an Arizona transfer, to the victory.

Murauskas scored a career-best 29 points to lead all scorers. After coming into the game making just 6 of 27 3-point attempts on the season, he made 6 of 10 against Utah.

Three of those came in the final minutes, when Utah was trying to rally.

Utah climbed within two at 57-55 with 4:05 to play when Miro Little passed to a cutting Caleb Lohner, and Lohner finished at the rim while drawing the foul.

Lohner missed the free throw, though, and Murauskas drilled a 3-pointer just eight seconds into the ensuing possession to extend the lead back out to 60-55.

Play then went back and forth before an absolute killer — Jake Wahlin was called for a foul on Murauskas as Murauskas nailed another 3-pointer.

With the free throw, Saint Mary’s went back up 66-59 with just under two minutes to play. Murauskas made his final 3 with 28 seconds to go to make it an eight-point game at 71-63.

“He’s a talented guy, and it just felt like every time we made a mistake, he made us pay,” Smith said of Murauskas. “And of course, early in the game, we make some mistakes, and he sees that ball go in the hole, and he’s hunting shots. He’s an aggressive guy.”

That spoiled a spirited comeback effort from Utah, which was paced by 15 points from Gabe Madsen — though he only had two shot attempts in the final 10 minutes — and Little, who finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

It put a damper on the first Runnin’ Utes appearance for Lohner, the former BYU and Baylor forward who’s been busy playing tight end for Kyle Whittingham and the Utah football team and had practiced just twice with the Runnin’ Utes before Saturday.

With football season over, he made his season debut Saturday. There was clearly some rust, but Lohner provided a physical presence and had eight points and five rebounds in 20 minutes.

“He’s got elite feel. He’s got really good feel for the game, and he’s a true veteran,” Smith said. “... He really impacted this game. It was obvious. Got tired late, so we’re gonna really be able to help him with some things offensively.”

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One negative aspect of Lohner’s night was going 0 of 3 from the free-throw line, all in the second half. Utah in general had a rough night shooting free throws, going 10 of 17.

The shooting that really curtailed the mood for the Utes, though, was some missed open looks and failing to finish at the rim.

In the first half, Utah made only 5 of 16 shots at the rim. That improved to 8 of 19 in the second half, but it still was difficult to overcome against a Saint Mary’s team that is known for its imposing, controlling style of play.

“It’s a lot of mental lapses. Just got to be strong,” Little said of failing to finish at the rim. “Got to be strong with the ball and just finish with your eyes at the end of the day — just be mentally ready to go up there and get hit.”

When the Utes went into the break trailing by 17, Smith said the challenge was to “self-correct” and not be so down mentally, “and we were able to come out and make a fight out of this thing.”

He also tightened up his rotation — for guys like Mike Sharvjamts and Keanu Dawes, that meant they sat the entire second half, while Utah relied primarily on Little (20 minutes), Madsen (19), Mason Madsen (18), Lohner (12) and Lawson Lovering (11).

It took a few minutes into the second half, but Utah finally found a groove. An 18-3 run — powered by 10 points from Gabe Madsen — pulled the Utes within six at 49-43 with 13:08 to play, and from there, it was game on.

The Utes even managed to make it a two-point game at 57-55, but Saint Mary’s — with Murauskas providing the biggest spark — never let the Utes take the lead.

Smith lamented the opportunity lost for Utah to pick up what could have ended up being a Quad 1 victory.

“Tonight was probably a Quad 1 opportunity and we didn’t take advantage of it, but I thought they played great,” Utah’s coach said, of now 9-1 Saint Mary’s. “It just really felt like they do what they do, they capitalize when you make mistakes.”

Madsen bemoaned the first 20 minutes, when Utah shot just 23.5% to the Gaels’ 43.4%, and how they forced the Utes into rally mode.

“At the end of the day we showed some fight, but we talked about it in the locker room just now — against a good team like that, you can’t be a no-show for a half, and that’s what bit us in the butt,” Madsen said. “We showed a lot of fight — it was a fun environment — but just came up short.”

The Gaels, who shot 43.9% for the night compared to Utah’s 38.1%, also finished strong, scoring on six of their final seven possessions.

The effort left Smith and the players frustrated, but determined — the term the coach used was “excited” — to see how the Utes respond.

There are only three nonconference games remaining before the Big 12 opener on Dec. 31 at Baylor. Next week, the Utes host Radford, then they’ll face Florida A&M at home on Dec. 17 before playing Iowa on a neutral court on Dec. 21.

In the end, the lesson learned from Saturday night was this:

“I’m excited the trajectory that this team can go, but it’s going to take all of us,” Smith said. “It’s going to take all of us.”