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Fresno, Calif. • There have been other losses for the Utes, and by now, it seems inevitable there will be many more. But Saturday's record-setting 82-52 defeat at Fresno State seemed to take a harsher toll on the Utah men's basketball team.

Larry Krsytkowiak aimed his sunken red eyes downward after the game, not at his shoes but at some undefined point off in the distance. Josh Watkins walked off the court with nary a blip of emotion, staring straight forward.

It wasn't so much that there was anything new in this loss, this one to a team the Utes deeply believed they could beat, but simply that the trend is getting old.

"When you're a competitor losses hurt," junior center Jason Washburn said. "You try to make yourself numb to the feeling, but as a competitor it's really hard to do."

Washburn and junior guard Chris Hines each scored 12 points to lead Utah. Five Bulldogs scored in double digits.

The Utes fell to 1-6, the worst start to any season in the history of Utah basketball. They have lost six straight, the last four by an average 23.5 points. Saturday was the widest margin in any of the losses.

"It seems like we're just getting stomped to the ground when we lose like that," said guard Cedric Martin, who scored 10 points Saturday. "We don't need that. Confidence is a big factor, because once you have confidence it feels like you can do whatever you want on the floor."

Fresno State announced a crowd of 5,843 at the Save Mart Center, but even 2,000 would have been a generous estimate. Many Fresno State fans missed their team's most dominant outing of the season and the Bulldogs' first win over a Pac-12 team since 2006.

For the Utes, it was business as usual.

"There's two things you can do when things go bad," Krystkowiak said. "I learned it in a class in college one time, the old flight or fight. Right now we're just kind of taking flight instead of continuing to fight. It's disheartening for us."

The Utes shot 34 percent, allowed 24 points on 14 turnovers, and made just 13-of-21 free throws.

It was a perfect recipe for Fresno State, which improved to 4-4. The Bulldogs this season had already been pummeled by ugly losses, including a double-digit loss to North Dakota State.

For anyone scouring the Utes' schedule wondering where a win might come, Saturday seemed to provide a reasonable amount of hope.

"We all thought this was going to be the day," Martin said.

That notion took a punch to the gut early in the second half. The Utes trailed 35-25 at halftime, and the Bulldogs, who closed the first half on a 12-5 run, opened the second on an 11-4 tear.

"My thought coming out of the locker room at halftime was that 10-point lead becomes a six-point lead," Krsytkowiak said, "then next think you know I looked up and it was 14 or 16."

He didn't look up much after that

boram@sltrib.comTwitter: @oramb —

Highlights

R At 1-6, the Utes are off to the worst start in program history.

• Jason Washburn tallied his second career double-double, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

• The Utes will play Cal State-Fullerton on Wednesday and then host rival BYU on Saturday at the Huntsman Center.

• Fresno State wins its second straight game by 30 points after beating Division II Academy of Art 85-55 Wednesday.