The Runnin’ Utes put up a late fight at the Jon M. Hunstman Center on Saturday night against the St. Mary’s Gaels before falling 72-63.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

A rough first half

It was a half that dug Utah a hole, a giant one that seemed as though it would be impossible to get out of. The fact Utah came back to make it a game says a lot about the fight this team has. St. Mary’s hammered Utah in the first half, 39-22, as the Runnin’ Utes had no answers. Utah shot 8-34 for 23.5% from the field and 2-10 for 20% from long-distance.

Paulius Murauskas (11 first half points and 29 total) and the Gaels had everything going their way, from buckets to officiating calls. In the decisive first half, St. Mary’s won the turnover battle, 8-2, and they only tailed 20 seconds of the first half. Their biggest lead in the first was 18 points and 21 for the game.

Lohner is instantly the best low-post option

The basketball player-turned-football-player-turned-basketball player only had two practices with the Runnin’ Utes before taking the floor, but that didn’t matter. Along with point guard Miro Little, Lohner was Utah’s most impactful player on the court. The bruising forward altered shots, stuffed the lane, rebounded and created the type of energy that his teammates were able to feed off of.

The one joking negative that he had was finally recording an offensive stat as a Ute that didn’t result in a score, as he missed his first shot attempt.

With his addition, the Utes have added an interesting piece to the puzzle.

Little is emerging as the needed floor general

There’s a theme in the takeaways with two former Baylor Bears. Utah point guard Miro Little has really begun to emerge as a steady force for Utah’s attack, both offensively and defensively. He was a spark plug all night recording a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also recorded six assists and one steal. Little went 0-2 from long-distance, but he was 6-6 from the free-throw line.

With Mike Sharavjamts limited to just over seven minutes for ineffectiveness, Little almost led the Utes to a comeback win.

Second half was a positive on a negative night

A loss is a loss, there’s no moral victories. That being said, there were positives to take out of the second half. Utah head coach Craig Smith was looking to prove a point in the second half wanting to ride with the guys who were giving him a spark. He sat numerous guys that have been key contributors so far this season. All of Sharavjamts, Ezra Ausar, Keanu Dawes, and Hunter Erickson all played less than four minutes during the last 20 — Sharavjamts and Dawes didn’t play at all.

Despite trailing by 21 early in the second half, the Utes fought back to a one possession game, when Lohner hit a layup with 4:05 remaining in the game. However, Murauskas caught fire for the Gaels and the Utah rally fell short.

Up next

Utah has a week off before facing 8-2 Radford, whose two losses have come to Pitt and Clemson.