Runnin' Utes add to road woes with 68-64 loss to last-place Trojans

LOS ANGELES — The first 10 minutes of Thursday night's game couldn't have gone worse for Utah. But that's become the standard for the Runnin' Utes on the road lately.

Entering the late-night game in the "City of Angels," Utah had lost nine straight road games in conference play (dating back to last season) and its NCAA Tournament hopes hanging by a thread as Joe Lunardi's last team in the "last four in" category of his latest bracketology predictions.

So when the Utes went on a six-minute scoring drought and the Trojans built up a 10-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game, the hopes of a much-needed road win seemed far from a reality.

Those hopes were changed ever so subtly when Utah erased a double-digit lead to take a 1-point lead midway through the game, but a seven-minute scoring drought in the second half ended any real chance. And somehow Utah still did have a chance.

USC held off a late comeback attempt by Utah to claim a 68-64 victory on their home court — just the team's fourth win in conference play this season.

Utah (15-10, 6-8 Pac-12) cut the lead to 2 with 17.5 seconds left to play, but a reversed loose ball out of bounds call stopped Utah's chance to tie the game up. After a lengthy review, the refs switched it from Utah's ball to USC's.

It's those type of late-game turnovers that have been costly to Utah, head coach Craig Smith said. He pointed to a late-game turnover in a triple-overtime loss to Arizona the week before and Thursday's turnover as examples of where his team needs to do a better job of looking for a shot and trying to stay mistake free.

"We just kind of kept chipping away and got that lead, and then we had that tough 2-3 minutes stretch there where they were able to stretch it back out to 8. ... But we just didn't take advantage of it," Smith said.

The Trojans (10-15, 4-10 Pac-12) couldn't get anything out of the next possession after Boogie Ellis was fouled and he missed the first of a one-and-one free throw attempt. Deivon Smith collected the rebounds and sprinted the length of the court for a transition layup.

But as Smith, who was a key catalyst in Utah staying in the game, went up for a layup on the coast-to-coast run, USC's Joshua Morgan made a key block at the glass to stop Utah's opportunity. DJ Rodman then collected the rebound and went coast-to-coast for the game-sealing layup.

"I think I had it on the glass," Deivon Smith said. "I think it was goaltending, but I can't argue with the referees. Just next play."

Smith finished with a game-high 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a strong night for the senior guard. But Utah couldn't overcome a poor shooting night in which the team finished 37% from the field. Utah finished the game 1-of-7 from the field and on a two-minute scoring drought — one of many during the game.

Branden Carlson added 15 points, including two of the team's four 3-pointers on the night, and seven rebounds in the losing effort.

Though Utah struggled from the floor, the once last-place Trojans couldn't quite pull away from the Utes. Still, the team did just enough to keep the visitors at length to secure the win.

USC's Isaiah Collier finished with a team-high 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in the win. He was joined in double figures by Rodman (12 points) and Ellis (11 points). As a team, USC shot 41% from the field but collected 20 assists on its 26 made baskets.

"It's hard for these guys," Craig Smith said of the third straight loss for his team. "We've just got to stay together, we've got to keep fighting, because we're right there."

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