Runnin' Utes Pac-12 tourney run comes to an end after loss to Oregon

LAS VEGAS — After making some noise and playing spoiler in the 2013 Pac-12 tournament, the clock finally struck 12 for the Runnin' Utes.

Utah could hardly buy a basket, turned the ball over frequently and gave up an abundance of untimely offensive rebounds, leading to a decisive 64-45 loss at the hands of Oregon in the conference semi-finals, ending the young team's improbable run.

"I think we all strive to be playing our best basketball at the end of the year and that's what our fellas did," said Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak. "It gave you a little taste of what success can be like. I know it’s fun to keep coming back here every day and advance. There's excitement about being involved with it and an opportunity to be on ESPN. Those things are all fantastic for our program."

Senior forward E.J. Singler and freshman guard Damyean Dotson led the Ducks with 14 points apiece, with Singler grabbing eight rebounds. Junior guard Dominic Lloyd and senior forward Carlos Emory each scored 10, as Oregon (25-8, 14-6) punched its ticket to the Pac-12 championship game against UCLA Saturday night.

The Utes claimed a 6-5 advantage early on after 3-point shots by freshmen Jordan Loveridge and Brandon Taylor.

That turned out to be their final lead.

Oregon rode a 16-4 run to leap out to a 21-10 lead, and later closed the first half with a 6-0 rally to take a 29-15 advantage into the break.

Utah got as close as eight points with 9:40 left in the game, after going on an 8-2 run to make it 47-39.

But Singler scored the next five points to push the Ducks' lead back to 13, and the Utes couldn't cut the lead back to single digits.

Taylor led Utah (15-18, 7-14) with 13 points and four steals. Senior center Jason Washburn put in 12 points and grabbed nine boards, while Loveridge scored eight points with five rebounds.

Senior guard Jarred DuBois — who had been sensational over the Utes' four-game winning streak, averaging 18.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.5 turnovers during that span — had a rough night in what could be his collegiate finale. He shot 0-for-8 for zero points, two rebounds, two assists and six turnovers.

As a team, the Utes shot just 29.4 percent from the field, resulting in their lowest point total of the season. They were outrebounded 36-28 and coughed the ball up 17 times, leading to 18 points off turnovers for Oregon.

"They executed their game plan," DuBois said. "They were the better team."

In order for the No. 10 seed Utah to continue their run past No. 3 seed Oregon, they needed to play as well as they did when beating No. 7 seed USC and No. 2 seed Cal, but that wasn't the case. The Utes' season is likely done, barring an invitation to either the CIT or CBI tournament.

Utah's run to close out the season was an exciting one, however, given the state of the program over the past couple years. Young freshmen Taylor, Loveridge, Jeremy Olsen and Dakarai Tucker all made significant contributions and gained invaluable tournament experience that will greatly benefit this Ute squad going into next season.

"We struggled for the season and Coach always told us something great was going to happen," Taylor said. "We kept believing. We were at our lowest point but we turned it around. Coach knew what he had to do to get us on the right track and we turned it around to make it this far. I'm proud of my team."

"It was a great run to be here in this atmosphere with all our fans and family coming out," said Loveridge. "We did a lot of things that people said we couldn't this year and we showed that Utah basketball is headed in the right direction and it's just going to keep going up from here."

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

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