Utah’s road woes continued, as the Runnin’ Utes lost at West Virginia 72-61 on Saturday afternoon.
Toby Okani was huge for the Mountaineers in the first half and finished with nine points, and Javon Small came on strong, scoring 14 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing four rebounds.
Keanu Dawes led the Utes with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Here are three keys to another Big 12 road loss for the Utes.
10-3 West Virginia run at end of half sets tone for rest of game
After Utah forward Keanu Dawes hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 24-24 with four minutes remaining in the first half, West Virginia responded with a 10-3 run to close out the half and give the Mountaineers their biggest lead yet.
Okani was the catalyst in the run, starting it off with a layup. He also had a steal that led to a fast-break layup by Joseph Yesufu and finished the half off with a 3-pointer to boost West Virginia’s lead to 36-27.
Prior to Okani’s final 3-pointer of the half, he blocked Utah center Lawson Lovering, bringing the sold-out WVU Coliseum to its collective feet.
The closing run gave West Virginia all of the momentum heading into the second half, and Utah was never unable to overcome the deficit.
West Virginia’s defense takes Utah out of it
West Virginia entered the game with one of the toughest defenses in the Big 12, and it showed against a Utah team that has struggled on offense over the last few games.
Only two Utah players scored in double-digits on Saturday — Dawes with 14 and Jake Wahlin with 10, and the Utes had just 11 assists.
West Virginia’s ball pressure made it tough for Utah to get into its actions constantly and forced the Utes into some tough shots. Utah shot just 41.1% from the field and 26.1% from 3, and while the Utes turned the ball over just 10 times compared to 15 earlier this week against Colorado, those turnovers led to 16 West Virginia points.
Keanu Dawes continues to emerge for the Utes
In the loss, Dawes had another double-digit performance, his third in the last four games. Dawes’ 14 points led the Runnin’ Utes’ scorers, and he was a key part in a second-half bench-powered run that cut the Mountaineers’ lead from 14 to six, as he contributed seven of those points.
West Virginia regrouped following that run however, never allowing the Runnin’ Utes to get within less than five points.