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LOS ANGELES — After suffering heart-breaking loss after heart-breaking loss away from home this season, the Runnin' Utes ended their road struggles with a 79-71 victory at USC Thursday night.
Utah climbs back to .500 in conference play (17-7, 6-6), and here are the takeaways from the win over the Trojans (10-14, 1-10).
Clutch play
Having lost five road games by four points or less, the Utes had come up empty every time they needed a big play down the stretch in away contests.
Jordan Loveridge put an end to that against USC.
The Trojans had whittled down the Utah lead, which was as large as 17 points midway through the second half, to five points with under two minutes left to play. Given the Utes' track record on the road, they were well into the danger zone for blowing another opportunity.
The Utes drained the shot clock all the way down before getting the ball to Loveridge who had just enough time to square up and bury the 3-point dagger with 92 seconds left.
It was the first time Utah was able to make a statement play in crunch time on the road — when things got shaky after the home team began to rally — resulting in the Utes' first victory away from home.
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Utah holds off late run, beats USC 79-71
Delon Wright scored 21 and hot-shooting Utah kept Southern California in the Pac-12 cellar by holding off a late run Thursday night for a 79-71 victory in Galen Center.Team ball travels
Another issue Utah had been facing was that the signature team basketball it had showcased at the Jon M. Huntsman Center didn't seem to follow it outside of Salt Lake City.
That trend finally ended in LA.
Delon Wright filled up the stat sheet with 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead a team effort that featured four Utes in double figures. Loveridge did some stat-sheet stuffing of his own, tallying 19 points, eight boards and four assists, while Dallin Bachynski scored 13 with seven rebounds and Dakarai Tucker added 12 points.
Brandon Taylor also chipped in with nine points, six assists and three steals. Taylor, like Wright and Tucker, was playing in his home town for the first time in a Ute uniform. The So-Cal trio will have another opportunity Saturday afternoon when Utah visits UCLA.
Can they do it again?
The Utes are now 1-6 on the road after finally achieving that elusive road victory, but can they build on it with the tough schedule that looms ahead? After all, the Trojans lie dead last in the Pac-12 with just a single conference win to their name.
Utah's final three road matchups are at UCLA on Saturday, followed by Cal and Stanford during the first week of March — all three in the RPI top 50, which is a far cry from the hapless USC.
That said, the Utes came up just short at Arizona and Arizona State, both RPI top-50 teams as well. If the Utes can continue to play team basketball and make the key plays down the stretch, they'll have a chance to win any of those remaining road matches.
Saturday's contest at UCLA (19-5, 8-3) tips off at 3 p.m. Utah beat the Bruins, 74-69, Jan. 18 in Salt Lake City when they were ranked No. 24 in the nation. Tyson Maddy has covered the University of Utah football and men's basketball teams as a contributing writer for KSL.com Sports since 2011. Follow his Utes coverage on twitter @Tyson_Maddy
