The Runnin’ Utes had a hard-fought battle, but lost to Mississippi State (6-0) in the closing minutes, 52-49. The Utes now move to 4-2 in midseason tournaments under head coach Craig Smith, as the Bulldogs took the crown for the Fort Myers Tip-Off Tournament.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

Utah had their chances in the last minute

Utah had opportunities to tie the game on their last two possessions. Marco Anthony’s dunk with 1:18 left brought the Utes to within three of the Bulldogs, but that would be the last time they would score. Mississippi State would miss a three-pointer on their next possession, but Utah couldn’t capitalize, missing a jumper from Branden Carlson and a layup from Ben Carlson with 0:18 left. Rollie Worster would then foul Dashawn Davis. The Utes would catch a break with him missing the first of one-and-one, but the Bulldogs would get the rebound, only for Utah to get it back for one last shot.

With 0:04 seconds left and the full court to drive, Smith drew up the perfect play. Worster threw a long outlet pass, sprinted up court to get it passed back and missed the three as the buzzer sounded.

Both teams were ice cold offensively

All night it seemed as though there was a lid on the basket for both teams. The biggest difference in the game? It was the large failure of three-pointers the Bulldogs put up.

The Utes shot 32% on field goals, going 17-52 on the night. They made 11-18 free-throws and only hit 4-19 threes. The Bulldogs shot even worse, going 17-67 on field goals, but the biggest difference was going 9-38 from three-point land. In the decisive second half, Mississippi State didn’t make their first two-point field goal until 3:00 left in the game.

Utah’s Branden Carlson is going through a bit of a rough patch, scoring only 19 points in the last two games. It got worse against Mississippi State, as he was held scoreless on 0-6 shooting.

Up next

The 4-2 Runnin’ Utes head back home to face St. Thomas-Minnesota, Saturday at 6:00 PM MST. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!