Runnin' Utes' late push falls short as No. 4 Bruins pull away for 78-71 win

SALT LAKE CITY — UCLA controlled a 16-point lead and Utah looked dead in the water midway through the second half.

The home team had struggled to put together a consistent offensive performance and was minutes away from a rout opening up at the Huntsman Center to the fourth-ranked Bruins. And by all accounts, it probably should have been.

But Utah went on a late 10-1 run behind a Mike Saunders Jr. 3-pointer followed up by a Wilguens Exacte Jr. 3-pointer to give the team some life. A pair of driving layups by Saunders and Marco Anthony made it a 3-point game with five minutes left to play, and Utah head coach Craig Smith and the Huntsman Center crowd made their voices known.

For one night in particular, the Huntsman Center transformed into a hostile environment, and UCLA started to feel a bit of the excitement from the home venue. But UCLA was simply better, as evidenced by their high rankings in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, and pulled away in the end for a 78-71 win.

"They're really good team; they're a very complete team," Smith said. 'Obviously, the ranking speaks for themselves, and I think they have a two-game lead in the league. We gave ourselves a chance. ... Really proud of our guys — like, just incredibly proud of our guys and how hard we competed. We did make a lot of mistakes, specifically on the defensive end, but we did a lot of really good things tonight."

Smith said one of the turning points in the game came in the first half, specifically, when Utah gave up 19 points in transition — "a combination of them getting the rebound and breaking and then off our turnovers." Utah let players get behind them multiple times, especially early in the contest, and gave up easy points to help the Bruins build up a lead.

"It's just a lot of points to give up to a team like that where you just feel like you're given freebies, and there was a lot of freebies," Smith added.

Utah was without two of its starters — Gabe Madsen and Rollie Worster — in the lineup due to injury on Thursday, but the team got great minutes, specifically on offense, from rarely seen Saunders, who finished with a game-high 25 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Saunders gave Utah some much-needed speed to beat UCLA's stout defense and became an offensive weapon for a team that struggled to put together a consistent effort on that side of the floor. Saunders has been buried on the bench for much of the season, but delivered when he was called upon.

"Honestly, it felt amazing, and it was crazy because I envisioned it," Saunders said. "When I was sitting on the bench and watching my teammates, I was just waiting for an opportunity. I feel like my teammates believe in me, and also I've got full belief in them, so I knew when my time was called. I just go out there and play my game.

"We didn't come on the right side of the winning column," he added, "so I'm not really happy about it, but it was good to finally get opportunity, for sure."

Utah did nearly everything right for much of the night to stay close to the Bruins. The team outrebounded UCLA, had only four first-half turnovers and matched the Bruins' scoring in the post.

Utah even had more second-chance points, but the Runnin' Utes only shot 33% from the field in the first half and couldn't keep pace with a Bruins team that finished the opening half 61% from the floor and controlled a 12-point halftime lead.

In the words of former Utah head coach Jim Boylen: The ball didn't go in the hoop.

At least for one team.

Utah finished the night shooting an improved 43%, while UCLA dropped to 51% from the field. Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds on a night when UCLA was favored by 7.5 points. Tyger Campbell added 18 points and five assists in the winning effort.

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