Month: March 2026

The 12th-ranked Utah’s gymnastics team locked up its second straight Big 12 regular season title Sunday with a 197.200-196.100 victory over No. 21 Denver.

The Red Rocks, who are undefeated in Big 12 meets, put together a solid effort that resulted in their highest score outside of Utah this year.

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“Regular season champions for the Big 12, and that’s a big deal. You know, it really is,” said Utah coach Carly Dockendorf after the meet.

Utah gymnasts won all the individual event titles, highlighted by Avery Neff’s 9.95s on bars and beam and Ella Zirbes’ 9.95 on floor, which ties her career high.

Makenna Smith won vault with a 9.925, and Neff also added another all-around win to her resume with a 39.650.

Utah didn’t have the sharpness we’ve seen in its last two home meets at beginning of Sunday’s matchup, taking a bit to get going while facing an uphill battle with a lot of low scores flying all meet.

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On its first event, bars, the Red Rocks counted a 9.775 by Clara Raposo after dropping Abbi Ryssman’s 9.725, which was an uncharacteristic score for the freshman.

But the final three gymnasts were able to find success, with Ella Zirbes hitting a 9.875 and Ana Padurariu recording a 9.9 to set up Neff nicely as Utah finished what is typically its best event with a 49.325.

Utah suffered from the landing bug on vault in its second rotation. The Red Rocks also didn’t get any breaks from the judges when it came to the scores, with Ella Zirbes’ 9.725, Zoe Johnson’s 9.825 and Avery Neff’s 9.875 all seemingly low.

“I was really proud of how we just stayed focused on our own team tonight,” said Dockendorf. “Not gonna lie, some of the scoring was interesting. I’ll use that word.”

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Smith was the only Red Rock to score in the 9.9s as the team finished with a 49.150 for its lowest event score in the meet, though the overall score still had Utah ahead of the Pioneers and the Red Rocks sped away in the third event, floor.

Floor was Utah’s best showing Sunday with a 49.45 led by Zirbes, who was followed by 9.925s from Smith and Sage Curtis to close things out.

It was Curtis’ best showing this season as the freshman continues to get better each meet in the anchor position.

Beam was the final rotation for Utah, and the Red Rocks finished at 49.275, which included only Neff going 9.9 or higher. There were a few tiny balance checks or tiny steps on landings, but it was probably the tightest scored event in the meet.

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While there were a lot of positives in the win, including the highest away score, another conference title and hitting 24 of 24 routines, there is still room for improvement, Dockendorf admitted.

Utah has two regular season meets left to make those improvements.

“We need to continue to just keep moving forward, eliminating some of the small little deductions, continuing to not replicate the same mistakes week after week,” Dockendorf said.

The other focus will be on finalizing the lineups, as the exhibition routines were strong in the meet, showing the coveted sixth spot is still up for grabs in a few events.

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“I think it also talks to the depth of our team that we have the ability to still put other people in,” Dockendorf explained. “But yeah, we definitely would like to settle into our lineups. We are getting closer and closer to that.”

Event winners

All-Around — Avery Neff (Utah); 39.65

Vault — Makenna Smith (Utah); 9.925

Bars — Avery Neff (Utah); 9.95

Beam — Avery Neff (Utah); 9.95

Floor — Ella Zirbes (Utah); 9.95

Next up

Utah competes in the Huntsman Center for the last time this season when it hosts West Virginia and No. 24 BYU Saturday at 3 p.m.

Could there be a Round 3 of the BYU-Utah women’s basketball rivalry this season?

That’s a strong possibility, after the Big 12 tournament bracket was finalized Sunday.

Utah earned the No. 8 seed and a first-round bye, while BYU received the No. 9 seed.

As a result, the two rivals could meet in the second round of the event on Thursday.

BYU will open the conference tournament at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Wednesday against No. 16 Houston (12:30 p.m. MST, ESPN+).

If BYU wins, it will advance to face Utah in the second round Thursday (12:30 p.m. MST, ESPN+).

The Cougars swept the season series against the Utes, beating Utah 77-65 in Provo before winning again in Salt Lake City 86-74 less than two weeks ago.

As for its opening-round opponent, BYU beat Houston 79-64 in the lone matchup between the sides this season.

Both BYU and Utah are considered NCAA Tournament bubble teams heading into the Big 12 tournament and would benefit greatly from conference tournament runs to bolster their NCAA resumes.

Who earned byes at the Big 12 tournament?

TCU repeated as Big 12 regular-season champions, beating Baylor Sunday to win the crown outright.

As a result, the Horned Frogs are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament and will have a bye all the way to the quarterfinal round.

West Virginia is the No. 2 seed, Baylor the No. 3 seed and Oklahoma State the No. 4 seed, and like TCU, all three will have a bye into the quarterfinals.

Four other teams — No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 6 Colorado, No. 7 Iowa State and No. 8 Utah — earned first-round byes.

The rest of the league’s teams will play in the first round.

TCU won last year’s Big 12 tournament, beating Baylor 64-59 in the championship. the Horned Frogs then advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

Big 12 women’s basketball tournament seeds

• No. 1 — TCU Horned Frogs (27-4, 15-3 Big 12)
• No. 2 — West Virginia Mountaineers (24-6, 14-4)
• No. 3 — Baylor Bears (24-7, 13-5)
• No. 4 — Oklahoma State Cowgirls (23-8, 12-6)
• No. 5 — Texas Tech Lady Raiders (25-6, 12-6)
• No. 6 — Colorado Buffaloes (20-10, 11-7)
• No. 7 — Iowa State Cyclones (22-8, 10-8)
• No. 8 — Utah Utes (19-11, 10-8)
• No. 9 — BYU Cougars (20-10, 9-9)
• No. 10 — Arizona State Sun Devils (22-9, 9-9)
• No. 11 — Kansas Jayhawks (18-12, 8-10)
• No. 12 — Kansas State Wildcats (15-16, 8-10)
• No. 13 — Cincinnati Bearcats (11-19, 6-12)
• No. 14 — UCF Knights (11-18, 3-15)
• No. 15 — Arizona Wildcats (12-17, 3-15)
• No. 16 — Houston Cougars (7-22, 1-17)

Big 12 women’s basketball tournament schedule

First round

Wednesday, March 4

• Game 1: No. 12 Kansas State vs. No. 13 Cincinnati, 10 a.m. MST (ESPN+)
• Game 2: No. 9 BYU vs. No. 16 Houston, 12:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
• Game 3: No. 10 Arizona State vs. No. 15 Arizona, 4:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
• Game 4: No. 11 Kansas vs. No. 14 UCF, 7 p.m. MST (ESPN+)

Second round

Thursday, March 5

• Game 5: No. 5 Texas Tech vs. Game 1 winner, 10 a.m. MST (ESPN+)
• Game 6: No. 8 Utah vs. Game 2 winner, 12:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
• Game 7: No. 7 Iowa State vs. Game 3 winner, 4:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
• Game 8: No. 6 Colorado vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m. MST (ESPN+)

Quarterfinals

Friday, March 6

• Game 9: No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. Game 5 winner, 10 a.m. MST (ESPNU)
• Game 10: No. 1 TCU vs. Game 6 winner, 12:30 p.m. MST (ESPNU)
• Game 11: No. 2 West Virginia vs. Game 7 winner, 4:30 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
• Game 12: No. 3 Baylor vs. Game 8 winner, 7 p.m. MST (ESPN+)

Semifinals

Saturday, March 7

• Game 13: Game 9 vs. Game 10 winner, 2 p.m. MST (ESPN+)
• Game 14: Game 11 vs. Game 12 winner, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Championship

Sunday, March 8

• Game 15: Semifinal winners, 3 p.m. MST (ESPN)

Note: If BYU advances to the championship, the game will be moved to Monday, March 9 at 2 p.m. MST (TV TBD).

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Grizzlies partnered with the Ink Against Cancer Foundation for the final Ink Against Cancer Game & Live Tattoo Night to commemorate the team’s final season in Utah and to raise money for cancer warriors.

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On Feb. 27 and Feb. 28, the Utah Grizzlies welcomed the Ink Against Cancer Foundation to the rink for one final time, bringing together hockey enthusiasts, tattoo artists, cancer warriors, and community members.

Ink Against Cancer Foundation currently supports more than 94 Cancer Warriors. As a fully volunteer-led nonprofit, the funds raised go directly toward rent, utilities, groceries, medical travel, and critical support when families need it most.

Hildegard Koenig, President and Co-Founder of the Ink Against Cancer Foundation, told ABC4 that 15 tattoo artists donated 100% of their time and profits from the event to people battling cancer.

“They just want to give back to the community,” Koenig said. “We have supported almost 100 cancer warriors.”

The event featured live tattooing during the game where guests had the opportunity to get permanently “inked’ in commemoration of the Grizzlies last season in Utah. The proceeds from the event go towards supporting cancer warriors and their families.

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This is the 10th anniversary of the collaboration between the Ink Against Cancer Foundation and the Utah Grizzlies. Koenig said that the artists hoped to tattoo more than 60 people in one night.

Cydne Butler, President of the Grizzlies Booster Club, walked away with not only her very first tattoo, but a matching one with her son. Butler told ABC4 that the design they picked was in honor of her mother, who recently passed away.

“It kind of looks like my mom, honestly, and we both just really liked it,” she said.

Butler went on to gush about the Ink Against Cancer Organization and her fondness for the community engagement that it inspires.

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“It is just amazing, it really is,” she said.

Donations to the Ink Against Cancer Foundation can be found here.

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It would be wise of the Cleveland Browns to take multiple offensive linemen in the 2026 NFL draft after how poorly their line played during the 2025 season. The team has been searching for a franchise left tackle since Joe Thomas retired in 2018. They tried free agents and even spent a top 10 pick on Jedrick Wills Jr. out of Alabama, but none of those players worked out.

Though the tackle class isn’t as deep as you’d like, there are some good left tackle prospects in this class, and the Browns have met with one of them at the 2026 NFL Combine. Utah has a pair of tackles in this year’s class, and Cleveland has met with Caleb Lomu as a potential answer to their left tackle question mark.

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One of the best parts of Lomu’s game is his recovery skills; he has the body control and balance to re-engage and take control of a rep after being initially beaten. He is a plus-level athlete with quick feet and good range. Overall, his movement skills in the run game are good, and he has the tools to get significantly better with proper development in the NFL.

This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns Meet with Caleb Lomu

It didn’t take long for the Utah women’s basketball team, on Senior Day, to get itself a commanding lead.

Just four and a half minutes into their contest against the Arizona Wildcats, the Utes were up 15-2 at the Huntsman Center on Saturday.

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Utah made its first five shots and 7 of 10, and that set the tone as the Utes cruised to an eventual 81-67 victory over the Wildcats.

“We had a great first quarter, great third quarter and then you know, at the fourth quarter, it’s kind of things got out of hand and I think we just kind of let our guard down a little bit, and that’s part of it,” Utah coach Gavin Petersen said.

(I’m) just glad we could send these guys out on Senior Night with a win, so now we await tomorrow. We’ll be scoreboard watching and learning our fate in Kansas City (for the Big 12 tournament), so just extremely proud of our program and where it sits right now.”

Saturday was an appropriate sendoff for Utah’s seniors, as starters Lani White and Maty Wilke led the Utes in the win, while the program also honored Samantha Crispe and Alyssa Blank.

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White ended up scoring a team-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers, while adding five rebounds and two assists.

Wilke, meanwhile, tossed in 12 points and added five steals, three rebounds and three assists in front of an appreciative crowd.

Both White and Wilke have had their ups and downs throughout their college careers — including a transfer for both of them at one point — before shining as the program’s leaders as seniors.

The pair shared what the emotions of Saturday’s contest meant to them.

“(I’ll) try not to get emotional, but it just, it means so much. I had a rough first two years and I’m ever so grateful to have the opportunity to come back and, you know, have a coaching staff and a head coach that just believes in me so much,” said White, who played two seasons at Utah, then transferred to Virginia Tech last year and came back to the Utes for her senior season.

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“And I think playing for this team and playing for this staff, it means the world because not every team has a family. I played for this sisterhood and it’s just unbelievable. I couldn’t have asked for a better year. Really happy to end it with this group.”

Wilke, meanwhile, played two seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to Utah and enjoying her best season, like White, as a senior.

“Before coming here, I was in a really dark place and I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to keep playing basketball, but the coaching staff and the girls that were here took me in and gave me another opportunity to play the game and to find that joy again, and I’m forever grateful for Gavin, the staff and my teammates for allowing me to have another chance at college basketball,” Wilke said.

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“And like Gavin said, it’s not only like the points and wins or losses, but for me, it’s all the relationships I’ve been able to build since being here.”

She continued: “Oh gosh, it’s really weird to think about not wearing this jersey with them after. I mean, we still have games left, so I’m still (not) done, but it’s just crazy to think about coming in here and now they’ve really helped me grow everyone here, and like I said, just helped me find my light again, not only on the court, but in life, and I’m just extremely grateful for this program.”

When Utah got off to that strong start in Saturday’s game, it was a trio of non-seniors — LA Sneed, Chrya Evans and Reese Ross — who scored the Utes’ first 17 points.

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Then Wilke and White scored their first points on back-to-back possessions — Wilke on a 3-pointer, White on a fast break layup — to give Utah a 22-7 lead.

“Once you see the ball go in the hole like at any time in the game, it kind of just (the) pressure goes down and everyone’s feeling it. Like I can do my role, I don’t have to overdo (things),” Wilke said.

“… It felt very balanced in the beginning of the game and everyone was scoring, everyone was doing their part, and so it was just extremely fun, too.”

Eventually, Arizona (12-17, 3-15 Big 12) trimmed its deficit to 32-27 near the midway point of the second quarter, but Utah had an answer.

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Over the final 5:27 of the second period, Utah (19-11, 10-8 Big 12) outscored the visitors 15-7 to take a 47-34 lead into halftime.

Then, the Utes landed the knockout punch by outscoring the Wildcats 24-13 in the third quarter.

That helped push the Utah lead as high as 26 points.

White scored 11 of her points in the third, while Wilke had five points in each of the first and third quarters.

That left Utah with the chance to coast into the win, and allowed fellow seniors Crispe and Blanck to get on the court late as well.

White and Wilke led a balanced effort, while Ross (16 points, six rebounds, two assists) and Sneed (11 points, five rebounds, two rebounds, one steal) also scored in double figures.

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All totaled, six Utes scored six or more points in the regular-season finale.

“The focus and the intensity from our offensive execution, it was really on for the majority of the night. A lot of good cutting to the baskets, utilizing our spacing and cuts, moving the basketball. That’s why the stat sheet gets filled up by everybody,” Petersen said.

“… Our off-ball movement was really good. A few times we got trapped and threw the ball away. That’s to be expected, but for the most part, just really proud of our poise and our fundamentally sound pivoting and getting the ball out of those traps, and I think that’s what led us to those open 3s as well.”

It was a kind of night that defined Utah basketball — the Utes had 15 assists on 18 made buckets in the first half, and they finished with 23 assists on 28 made field goals by game’s end.

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Utah also made 11 of 25 3-pointers, with White’s four 3s leading the way. Wilke and Brooke Walker also hit two each.

“I think we have a great confidence in ourselves and in one another, and all week we were saying that we knew that the 3 was going to be there for us,” White said.

“But Arizona did a great job pressuring us, so for us, we attacked it and that inside-out 3 works in our favor usually. I did not know that we made that many, but dang, I’m happy for us. We haven’t had a night like that in a long time, so that’s super awesome.”

Utah dominated the paint, outscoring Arizona 34-18 in the post, while also owning a 33-27 rebounding edge.

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The Wildcats, who were without leading scorer Mickayla Perdue, were paced by 31 points from Sumayah Sugapong, and Noelani Cornfield added 20.

The story of the night for Utah, though, was honoring its seniors. With White and Wilke on either side of him in the postgame press conference, Petersen shared his gratitude for leading the program alongside this group of four seniors.

“I am just extremely proud of like our program, our team, surrounded by these guys (White and Wilke), and then obviously AB and Sam. Like, just tremendous people,” Petersen said.

“And that’s what I am so proud of. These guys are going to be in my life for the rest of my life, and that’s something that doesn’t show up in stat sheets or win columns. … I’m passionate about what I do, but the relationships that we build are genuine, authentic, and I’m just so proud of everybody showing up tonight, giving it their best.”

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Now, the Utes will play the waiting game.

The Big 12 regular season wraps up Sunday with five more games, and after that, Utah will learn what seed it receives in next week’s Big 12 tournament.

With the win, the Utes assured themselves they will have at least the No. 9 seed, and could earn as high as the No. 7.

If Utah is either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed, it will have a first-round bye at the Big 12 tournament, which starts next Wednesday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

The key game to watch Sunday is Arizona State vs. No. 20 Texas Tech (1 p.m. MST, ESPN+). If Arizona State loses, Utah will earn a first-round bye.

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“(We’ll have) tomorrow off, we’ll get just rested, collect ourselves and then scoreboard watch, and then our staff will meet,” Petersen said. “We’ll get our game plan and everything pretty dialed in quickly, and then we’ll have practice Monday.”

UINTA MOUNTAIN RANGE, Utah (ABC4) — Sled dog races across the Northwest are facing cancellations due to a serious lack of snow, sending rippling disappointment through the sled dog teams that look forward to these events each year. However, Utah came to the rescue by hosting a race of its own.

The Rocky Mountain Triple Crown sled dog races take place annually in ranges in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, but since 2026 has offered a nearly snowless winter, none of those races have been able to run. In order to lift the spirits of teams that have been training, two Utah sled dog mushers are coming together to put on what they say is their first sled dog race in Utah, offering teams a place to compete.

Wade and Dallin Donaldson, mushers of Bear Ridge Adventures Dog Sledding in Utah, put on what they say is their first sled dog race in Utah. this weekend. The race, aptly titled the Utah Uinta Ultimate, took place in the Uintah Mountain Range.

A video provided to ABC4 by the race organizers shows one sled dog team racing to the finish line.

Though Utah has also suffered a lack of snow this winter, its conditions are better suited than other parts of the Northwest.

“Usually, we have better snow conditions, and the trails are normally a little bit better than what they are now,” Wade said. ” But we do have enough to do it, so we have been really happy to host the race.”

There are 24 teams participating in the race overall. 16 teams are participating in a 15 mile per day race, and eight teams are participating in a 100-mile race split into 50-mile legs.

Dallin told ABC4 that several mushers have reported feeling undertrained this year due to the lack of snow. He added that this is the reason that the Utah Uinta Ultimate is offering a 15-mile race option.

Wade added that the Uinta Mountains are the perfect place to hold a race like this.

“The great thing about the Uinta Mountains is that we are starting at higher elevations, so there is better snow here, there are cooler temperatures, and the Uintas in Utah just have some really beautiful trails,” he said.

Utah leaders react after U.S., Israel launch major attack on Iran

This race comes on the heels of several avalanches that have taken the lives of Utah skiers over the past few weeks. According to Wade, the Uintas were chosen as the host for this race because the avalanche risk in the range is low, but that they are still aware that the risk is there. The racers will be sharing the trails with snowmobiles as well, so “to make sure that the dog teams stay safe with the machines on the trail, we have stationed a couple of signs on the trail,” Wade said.

The event also employs Utah State University Veterinarian students that help ensure that the sled dogs are well cared for.

The Donaldsons said that they hope to make the Utah Uinta Ultimate an annual event.

“It’s a really small community of really great people. We are fortunate to be involved in that community. This is a group of people that we love. It’s a sport that we love. All of us just want to be out here and spend some time with our dogs in the mountains, Wade said. “It is really cool for us to get together with our friends and the other mushers who I think are like-minded individuals and just enjoy the trails, enjoy the great outdoors, and spend our time loving on the dogs.”

Find out more about the Utah Uinta Ultimate on their website.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has another potential injury to deal with after leaving New Orleans’ game at Utah in the second quarter Saturday night.

The Pelicans announced Williamson would not return due to an injury to his right ankle in a game New Orleans went on to win 115-105.

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Interim coach James Borrego said Williams “tweaked the ankle,” but didn’t have an immediate update on severity of the injury. “Hopefully, it’s nothing serious, and we’ll have him back out there very soon,” Borrego said.

It’s the latest setback for the oft-injured player who had already missed 16 games this season due to various ailments. The game against Utah was the two-time All-Star’s 35th straight — an NBA career-best for Williamson — dating to Dec. 11, after he sat out five games with a right hip adductor strain.

Williamson had four points, two assists and a rebound in 11 minutes of playing time against Utah.

Selected by the Pelicans with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft out of Duke, Williams has been limited to playing just 258 of 543 potential regular-season games, and never more than 25 in a row before this most recent stretch. He also missed the entire 2021-22 season with a broken right foot.

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The Pelicans’ lineup was already depleted in playing without small forward Trey Murphy (right shoulder), center Yves Missi (left calf) and guard Dejounte Murray (reconditioning).

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Several usual issues hurt Utah as they fell 73-60 to Arizona State at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday afternoon.

While Utah got off to a strong start, defensive breakdowns and struggling to attack the Sun Devils zone defense were too much to overcome.

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Here’s a look at three takeaways from a loss that drops Utah to 10-19 overall and 2-14 in Big 12 play.

Struggles attacking the zone

Things looked good for Utah early when the Runnin’ Utes got out to a 14-5 lead.

After Terrence Brown picked up two early fouls, though, Utah struggled to attack Arizona State’s zone defense and its offense stagnated for much of the day.

The Sun Devils turned around the complexion of the contest by outscoring Utah 20-5 over the final 10:51 of the first half to take a 34-24 lead into the break.

The Utes shot 34.5% from the field in the first half, while Arizona State shot 44.8% and made 6 of 11 3-pointers in the same time frame.

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Keanu Dawes led Utah with 16 points, four rebounds and two assists, while Don McHenry, who hit four 3-points, added 14 points.

Defensive breakdowns and ASU’s 3-point shooting

Some of Utah’s defensive issues that started to show later in the first half became a bigger issue in the second half.

Overall, the Utes allowed the Sun Devils to shoot 49.1% for the game, including 53.8% after halftime. Arizona State also made 9 of 17 3-pointers and scored 39 points in the second half to keep Utah from rallying.

Maurice Odum led four Sun Devils in double-figures, as he put up 15 points, four assists, one block and a steal.

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Santiago Truet had a double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds) to go with three blocks, while Massamba Diop (14) and Anthony Johnson (13) also scored in double-figures.

How did Lucas Langarita look?

Utah got back mid-year addition Lucas Langarita, the guard from Spain who has missed the past 12 games due to injury.

There was understandably some rust, as he had two turnovers and shot 0 of 2 in the first half.

Langarita, though, had an impressive three-possession stretch in the second half that showcased what he could bring to Utah down the stretch and if he chooses to stick around beyond this season.

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First, he made a long jumper with the shot clock running down to cut the ASU lead to 43-34.

On Utah’s next offensive possession, he passed to Dawes, who drove into the lane and scored two points at the hoop.

Then Langarita rebounded an Arizona State miss, pushed the ball upcourt in the fast break and McHenry for 3, getting credit for his lone assist.

That cut the Arizona State lead to 43-39.

Langarita played 16 minutes and had 2 points on 1 of 3 shooting (0 of 1 from 3), two rebounds, an assist and a steal to go with two turnovers.