Utah comes up short in heart-breaking fashion

Despite leading USC for nearly 40 minutes, late-game issues cost the Utes in the end

Prior to tipoff on Thursday night against USC, the Utes' struggles on the road in the Pac-12 are well documented. Being 0-3 and and losing by an average of 25 points per game, Utah was looking to reverse fortune against the Trojans. 

For about 30 minutes, it looked as if the Utes were going to turn around their fortunes. But, the Trojans turned up the defensive pressure and the Utah gave up its double digit leading, falling 56-52 in the end. 

#Utes fall to USC 52 to 56. #GoUtes🏀🔴 #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/BPQoLkjTLp

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 31, 2020

"We didn't make enough shots (going) 18 of 55 from the field," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "I was super proud of our guys defensively and we outrebounded them, there was just a little meat left on the bone, I thought."

The game came down to the final few possessions, with each team trading stops and buckets.

Utah had the chance to take a two-point lead when Brendan Carlson was fouled with under a minute left. However he missed both free throws and USC's Onyeka Okungwu scored on the other end, giving USC a two-point lead with 15 seconds left.

“What's going through my head is, you know, make them and I've got to do this to help my team,” said Carlson, who had 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting. “It's really frustrating for myself to know that I didn't make them and I didn't step up and knock down the three throws, especially two in a row. I can't do that again.”

After taking a timeout, Krystkowiak called for a play in which Utah's Timmy Allen would draw the switch on to the freshman Okungwu and try to take him off the dribble. Unfortunately, Allen was stoned by Okungwu and never got a shot off, resulting in a jump ball and Trojans possession. 

“That’s what we called, a mid pick-and-roll to try to get downhill ... but it didn’t go as planned,” Krystkowiak said regarding that final possession. 

Okungwu went 2-for-2 from the line after being fouled following the inbounds pass to end the game.

“I don’t think we were struggling to find offense. I’d prefer to say we had great looks and they didn’t go in,” the Ute coach said. “At the end of the day when you’re playing a game in the 50s, you’ve got to knock a few more of them down.”

Utah played well in the first half, controlling the tempo of the game and playing strong on defense, forcing the Trojans into multiple turnovers — Utah led 29-23 at the end of the first half thanks to three-pointers by Jaxson Brenchley and Riley Battin.

The Utes stretched its lead to 40-31 following an Allen layup, but that's when USC began to turn up the defensive pressure and slowly pick away at the lead — setting the stage for the drama in the final minute.

“It’s disappointing that we lost, but we played our hardest and focused on defense,” said Carlson. “We just didn’t make as many shots as we’d like.”

Utah will now try to get back on track when it faces UCLA on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 1cp.m.