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TUSCON, Ariz. — The Runnin' Utes pulled within one point of the No. 3-ranked Arizona Wildcats after senior guard Cedric Martin buried a deep 3-pointer with just over a minute left Saturday afternoon.
Utah managed to get a stop on the other end, but senior guard Jarred DuBois missed a 3-point shot with 10 seconds on the clock and the Utes were forced to foul.
After Arizona guard Mark Lyons sank two free throws, Utah still had one more chance.
But DuBois failed to connect on another 3-point attempt, and the Utes' upset bid came up short, 60-57.
"A game like that will be frustrating when we don't win," said true freshman forward Jordan Loveridge. "I'm very proud of my team because we all know that Arizona is a very good team."
Senior forward Solomon Hill led Arizona with 19 points, shooting 6 of 7 from the field, and six rebounds. Lyons scored 12 points with four assists, while freshman forward Brandon Ashley added 11 points and four boards.
With the victory, the Wildcats remain undefeated in 2012-13, improving to 14-0 and 2-0 in Pac-12 conference play.
The Utes hung around and played tough for the duration of the contest, never falling behind by more than 10. They got within three points of Arizona five times in the final 12 minutes, but were ultimately unable to pull off the upset.
Senior center Jason Washburn led Utah with 17 points and 11 rebounds, following up his 19-point, 18-board performance from the overtime loss at Arizona State on Wednesday night with another stellar performance.
Loveridge also scored 17 points for Utah, hitting 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, while DuBois finished with 12.
Utah outshot Arizona, hitting 42.9 percent from the floor to the Wildcats' 36.2 percent. The Utes were also better from downtown, converting 43.8 percent from long range to Arizona's 31.8.
The Utes were outrebounded handily, however, losing the battle on the glass, 38-27.
"It's extremely frustrating because we came so close the past two games," Washburn said. "When our team plays well enough to win on the road against the No. 3 team in the country and it's taken away from you, I have no words for that."
With the loss, Utah falls to 8-6 on the season and 0-2 in the Pac-12, having dropped its first two conference road games by a combined four points. Last season, the Utes lost their first two Pac-12 road games by a combined 43 points.
Depsite marked improvement, the Utes still have a nagging problem: They've been unable to add to the "W" column in road matchups. Under head coach Larry Krystkowiak, Utah is now 1-20 in games played away from the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
The Utes now return to Salt Lake City to host UCLA and USC next week. Those contests will occur Thursday night, Jan. 10, and Saturday afternoon, Jan. 12, respectively.
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
