Runnin' Utes lose steam, fall 85-77 to visiting Sun Devils

SALT LAKE CITY — The Runnin' Utes had nothing left in the tank after a triple overtime loss Thursday.

The longer the game went on, the less Utah had to give; and Arizona State was more than happy to take advantage. The Sun Devils erased a 2-point halftime deficit and went on a couple runs in the second half to put distance on the home team en route to an 85-77 win at the Huntsman Center.

But Utah head coach Craig Smith isn't one to make excuses for something that happened in the past. In the end, it was more about the level of physicality — or the lack thereof — that Utah exhibited that led to the team's downfall Saturday.

"They fought hard," Smith said about Arizona State. "I thought they were the aggressor tonight, so give them a lot of credit to come in and win on the road. It's been hard to win on the road, and we've been really good at home until, quite frankly, tonight. It's a humbling game, and we got humbled tonight.

Utah (15-9, 6-7 Pac-12) shot 59% from the field in the first half but couldn't pull away from Arizona State (12-12, 6-7 Pac-12) due to several factors that didn't go in the home team's way, including nine turnovers that led to 15 Arizona State points and another poor shooting day from the free-throw line in which Utah shot 43%.

And though similar problems persisted in the second half, it was the poor second-half shooting by the Runnin' Utes that ultimately doomed the team.

Utah managed to cut into a 10-point deficit with a quick 5-0 run, but the home team couldn't hold on and Arizona State went on a quick 6-0 run — one of many runs — to push the lead back up to double digits.

Again, Utah went on another run, this time cutting the deficit to 75-71 with under three minutes left to play, but Arizona State drilled a corner 3-pointer on a late shot-clock attempt to hold off the threat. Utah, then, couldn't finish at the free-throw line to give them a chance, finishing the game shooting 46% from the line.

"I think it's just a mental thing," Utah's Branden Carlson said. "I think we've just got to step to the line — myself, really, included — just got to step up and just know that we've put in the time. We make these free throws in practice. Everyone shoots a very high percentage of practice. I think it's just in the game; it's got to be a mental thing, I think. Free throws is a very mental aspect of the game."

"We missed a lot of shots, quite frankly, in that second half," Smith added. "We had a lot of clean looks that just didn't fall in, and sometimes that happens, and I'm not a guy that usually says something like that, but I thought we did have a lot of clean ones tonight. Gotta make our free throws; it's starting to become a little bit of a habit of saying that, and I think there's a lot of things with that."

Carlson finished with a team-high 27 points and 11 rebounds — six of which came in the first few minutes of the games — in the loss. Carlson also recorded two blocks, making him the all-time career block leader at Utah.

"It's pretty cool, but a little taken away with the loss and everything, but it's cool," Carlson said. "It's something I've definitely been working for and looking forward towards this season, so it's great to kind of have my name on top of that list, and that's really cool."

Gabe Madsen finished with 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting in a rough night for the veteran sharpshooter. Two days after recording his second triple-double of the season, Utah starting guard Deivon Smith was held to 0 points, but added six rebounds and seven assists.

Meanwhile, Arizona State had four players finish the night in double figures, with Jose Perez leading the team with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, and four rebounds in the win. Perez managed 16 points in the second half to dominant the Utes.

With the loss, Utah takes a significant hit to an already fading chance of an NCAA Tournament bid. The loss to Arizona State is considered a Quad 3 loss for the Utes, a rare situation for Utah this season.

"We just weren't as connected as we needed to be tonight, and we just weren't as tough as we needed to tonight," Smith said. "And I just thought they out-played us, out-competed us."

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