TAKEAWAYS: Runnin’ Utes Fall to St. John’s

The Runnin’ Utes closed out the Charleston Classic against the St. John’s Red Storm under Rick Pitino, battling it out for third place in the in-season tournament. Utah found themselves trailing 19-7 midway through the first. Despite a quick offensive surge out of the gate in the second half the Utes couldn’t slow down St. John’s offense, ultimately falling 91-82.

Here are the takeaways from the game.

Crucial turnovers impacted Utes

The Runnin’ Utes struggled against the defensive pressure from St. John’s, forcing them to fall out of sync and turn the ball over in crucial moments. With 10:42 in the second half Daniss Jenkins stole the ball and weaved through defenders to the basket for a quick layup to cap off an 8-0 run extending their lead once again 68-60.

Utah was outscored in fast-break points 16-5 and out-rebounded 42-32.

Offense started the second half strong, but it wasn’t enough

Utah immediately started firing in the second half going on a 7-0 run. The quick outburst brought them to within 2-points. Eventually, Cole Bajema hit the layup to give the Utes the first lead since the beginning of the game 54-52. After another St. John’s run, Utah would cut the lead to 63-60 with 12:23 after Brandon Carlson hit two free throws. However, St. John’s would extend their lead with 4:18 left to play hitting three straight 3-pointers building a comfortable 17 point lead.

For the game, Brandon Carlson led the Utes with 22 points and eight rebounds. Cole Bajema added 13 points and three steals. Rollie Worster tallied 12 points and five steals while Gabe Madsen added 11 points and five rebounds.

Nothing slowed St. John’s down for long

Utah led for a brief moment early in the first but that was short lived. The Red Storm would go on a 14-0 run with 16:31 to play in the first half and would never trail in the first again — leading to an early 52-43 advantage heading to the half.

Nothing seemed to work for the Utes on defense to slow down the Red Storm, four out of the five starters tallied double digits. Daniss Jenkins led St. John’s with 19 points, hitting 8 of 17 including 8 assists. Jordan Dingle added another 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Center Chris Ledlum totaled 15 points and nine boards, while Center Joel Soriano finished with a double double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. The team as a whole hit 13 of 26 3-pointers against Utah.

Up next

Now 3-2 on the season, Utah will resume play Monday, November 27th on the road against 2-3 St. Mary’s. One of the Gael’s three losses came against Weber State.