The Runnin’ Utes traveled to Los Angeles on Wednesday, to take on the USC Trojans, in a late night Pac-12 battle. Utah held on to pull off the road upset, 77-70, but the score wasn’t indicative of how well the Utes handles the Trojan, for the majority of the night.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

Van Dyke helped Utah stem the tide

Though some other guys may have had more impressive nights, statistically, nobody had a more important moment for the Utes than Parker Van Dyke. Down by 22 at one point early in the second half, USC went on a 31-16 run to close the gap to seven points, with just two and a half minutes left. USC had switched to a full-court press, and it seemed that the Utes were in danger of succumbing to a third straight loss because of it. USC had all the momentum, and the Utes needed a player to step up big-time to help them gain some of it back. Enter Parker Van Dyke. With just over two minutes left, the senior guard took possession of the ball as the shot clock was running low, crossed over a USC defender, and drained a three to extend Utah's lead back to 10 points. Then, on the very next USC possession, Van Dyke jumped a pass, poking it away from the Trojans and causing a turnover as the ball bounced off of USC's Bennie Boatwright, out of bounds. From that point on, the Trojans couldn't recover, and Utah went on to sink 6-6 free throws, along with a dunk by Donnie Tillman, to seal the 77-70 victory.

Van Dyke may not be the flashiest player, but without that brilliant sequence of play, the Utes would have been in real danger of letting this game slip away from them.

Bounce-back game for Gach

In last week’s losses against the Oregon schools, Utah freshman, Both Gach, attempted just one shot in each of those games and struggled to find a rhythm. This was not the case against USC, as Gach played with more confidence and was able to find his shot, again. The talented freshman finished the night with 15 points, leading the Utes in scoring. One of the things that this Utah team lacks is a true point guard and Gach has shown glimpses of this throughout the season, but has struggled to be consistent. He has a natural ability of handling the basketball but sometimes his lack of experience creeps up on him and this turns into some costly turnovers. Gach’s minutes have improved significantly and he makes a big difference on the floor when he is playing loose and with confidence. As this team continues to battle in Pac-12 play, Gach will need to continue to play like he did against USC.

These guys are road warriors

After Wednesday’s win against USC, the Runnin’ Utes improved to a 4-1 record on the road in Pac-12 play. This lone loss coming against an Arizona team that needed overtime to beat the Utes. While playing on the road, the Utes have played more loose and have pushed the ball in transition, which has led to easy baskets. While at home, the players seem more tense and hesitant, as evidenced by their 2-4 record in Salt Lake City. Their Pac-12 road record is something to hang their hat on, and could serve them well during the conference tournament. That being said, it’s alarming that these guys struggle so much more at the Huntsman Center.

Up next

Currently sitting in fourth place in the Pac-12, the Runnin’ Utes will look to sweep their Southern California road trip, as they take on the UCLA Bruins (12-11 overall, 5-5 Pac-12) on Saturday at 3pm.