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SALT LAKE CITY — The Runnin' Utes fought hard and kept it close, but in the end the home team couldn't overcome the final hump and took their first loss of the season to Sam Houston 65-55.
The Utes got off to a slow start offensively but secured their first lead of the night in the first two minutes of the game when guard Gabe Madsen hit a quick 3-pointer on a fast break in transition to give Utah a 3-2 lead. But 20 seconds later, the Bearkats recaptured the lead on a mid-range jumper.
Utah trailed Sam Houston for the remainder of the game.
Despite shooting a better overall percentage than the Bearkats, the Utes struggled on the offensive side for big chunks of the game. Utah shot 43.5% from the field, while Sam Houston shot just 38.7%. The big difference, though, was the offensive rebounds Sam Houston collected.
The Bearkats secured 14 offensive rebounds to just five from the Utes. On two separate possessions in the game, Sam Houston pulled down three and four offensive rebounds to keep the play alive. The visitors made 62 shot attempts compared to just 46 from the Utes.
"They were quicker to the ball, they were tougher to the ball," Utah head coach Craig Smith said. "There were various times we had the ball and they just took it from us; I mean, just literally took it from us, or like, the ball's right there and we can't go get it for whatever reason."
In the first half, Utah got down by as much as 13 points; and with the way the Utes shot in the first half, it seemed like a monumental amount. Smith's team struggled to knock down open shots. The offense moved the ball well and got it to their shooters when they needed to but simply couldn't convert.
The hot start for Sam Houston cooled off when the Bearkats went through a scoring drought of more than three minutes. It allowed the Utes to get back into the game and trailed 27-23 at halftime — much of that came from Mike Saunders Jr. and Marco Anthony off the bench. Saunders only ended up with 6 points in the game but the few buckets he made came at critical times when his team needed him.
8-3 run capped off by this reverse brings us within 23-16 of the Bearkats.
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) November 18, 2022
📲 https://t.co/3xhme8nlNl#GoUtespic.twitter.com/xNtXtWchSY
Rollie Worster led the Utes in scoring with 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Lazar Stefanovic added 12 points in the loss. Branden Carlson, who is normally an imposing scoring presence in the paint, failed to score in the first half and ended with just 9 points in the game while leading the team in rebounds with seven.
"I think shots fall. I think, sometimes, too, you're gonna have an off night," Worster said. "I thought we had a lot of good looks on some of them that just didn't go in. ... Sometimes they just don't fall, I guess."
Despite the low-scoring night, Utah pulled close in the second half and fought their way back into the game. On multiple occasions during the final 20 minutes, the Utes pulled within a single possession but were never able to make the leap and take the lead again.
When it seemed like Utah would get the chance to pull it off, Qua Grant from Sam Houston knocked down a shot or made a difficult layup to keep the Utes at bay.
The Utes pulled the score to 53-51 with about four and a half minutes left to play, but Grant then went on to score his team's next 10 points to put Utah away for good.
"We knew they were gonna be a good team, but it's tough when you don't win," Smith said. "It's tough when you don't win any night, especially the way we lost the game.
"We've gotta be better. We've got some young guys, we've gotta get everybody connected. ... Hopefully we can get some continuity here and get some things figured out. So, tough night, gotta respond."
