Runnin' Utes 'destroyed on offense,' fall flat in 82-70 loss to Sun Devils

TEMPE, Ariz. — It just wasn't Utah's night.

Outside of forcing Arizona State into a shot clock violation on the first possession of the game and a quick dunk on the other end by Lawson Lovering, Utah struggled to piece together any consistency late Thursday night at Desert Financial Arena.

Arizona State got hot from behind the arc and made 12 3-pointers en route to an 82-70 win to stay undefeated in conference play.

"They came out and they played fast and furious," Utah head coach Craig Smith. "And we hadn't seen a team like that since St. John's and Houston. That's who these guys more resemble in terms of their style, and so we've got to handle that better."

Utah (11-3, 2-1 Pac-12) couldn't hit shots at a consistent rate, turned the ball over too much (15), and couldn't limit the Sun Devils (9-5, 3-0 Pac-12) on the other end of the floor to allow a usually mediocre shooting team into a 50% performance against the Utes.

In short, Utah got outplayed and didn't look the part in the team's first road game since November. Smith summed it up simply, saying his team was "destroyed on offense."

"I thought they played outstanding, probably the best game of the year," Smith said. "Some of that's us, but credit them, they played unbelievable. I mean, they played really, really well. They're always a team that's going to pressure and deny, create all kinds of havoc, swarm to the ball, bringing 3-4 guys to the ball.

But despite the struggles, Utah managed to keep it to no more than a two-possession deficit for much of the night — it was 55-53 with 10:55 left in the second half — until Arizona State eventually pulled away and built up a 17-point lead with 1:31 left in regulation.

Arizona State managed 15 points off 15 Utah turnovers, shot 43% from 3-point range, and had 18 fast break points in the winning effort.

But more than that, Jose Perez and Frankie Collins made Utah's night extremely difficult in a combined 44-point effort. The two veteran players had seven of the team's 12 3-pointers, while Collins added seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Perez led the Sun Devils with 26 points on 4-of-5 shooting from behind the arc, and had four rebounds and three assists in the home win.

For Utah, Branden Carlson led the scoring effort with 19 points, including two made 3-pointers, on a night when Utah shot below 40% for much of the night until finishing at 41% from the field.

"We didn't do a good enough job finding BC on a consistent basis," Smith said, while adding that his team missed too many "point blank shots around the rim all night long."

Utah guard Deivon Smith added 13 points — his first double-figure performance at Utah — and four rebounds, and showcased his dynamic play multiple times throughout the night. But his effort wasn't enough to will the visiting team to a win.

Each time Utah tried to get over the scoring hump, Utah found a way to commit a turnover, miss an easy layup, or found another way to give the ball back to Arizona State despite a first half that had 11 lead changes.

Utah will look to regroup in a ranked matchup in Tucson against No. 10 Arizona Saturday (6 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks).

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