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Los Angeles • By UCLA standards, it's been a tough year, and the somewhat sparse stands at Pauley Pavilion have reflected that lately.
But on Thursday night, the crowd stood up and cheered as the No. 11 Runnin' Utes shuffled off the floor, a vanquished UCLA foe.
The 69-59 loss, only Utah's fourth this season, was a startling gut check. Utah's season, trending on an upward arc for so long, took an unexpected slump as the team lost to an unranked opponent for the first time since last season.
There were too many culprits to list on their own, including turnovers, shooting droughts and missing defensive assignments. They stemmed back to one factor: energy.
"We just didn't bring energy," said Delon Wright, who had 15 points that mostly came as Utah battled back from a double-digit deficit. "Even myself, I felt like I was standing around waiting for things to happen."
Less than a month before had been Utah's big coming out party: They torched the Bruins in every way — shooting, boards, defense — on the way to a 32-point blowout.
The latest game was a role reversal.
A raggedy start out of halftime sucked the life out of Utah (16-4, 6-2 Pac-12). Before Brandon Taylor made the first shot more than seven minutes into the second half, Utah had missed seven shots and given up four turnovers to spot the Bruins 12 unanswered points.
UCLA (12-9, 4-4) attacked as the Utes went limp. Senior guard Norman Powell had a game-high 23 points to lead the Bruins to their biggest win of the year. And as ugly as it was, it could have been worse.
"I thought we should have been down 20 in the first half," Larry Krystkowiak said. "I thought they played harder than us, out-scrapped us. We really made it hard on ourselves. There was really only five minutes when we played hard enough."
Utah led by as much as seven early in the first half, showing some trademark defensive swagger. Between a Chris Reyes block on Tony Parker was something of an early tone-setter, but it didn't last.
Turnovers dogged the Utes throughout, from UCLA's first basket in transition off a Norman Powell steal. Utah gave up eight points in the first half between travel violations and ugly passes, and UCLA managed to cash in on the extra possessions: The Bruins finished scoring 18 points off 14 Utah turnovers.
The Utes shot 57 percent in the first half but still trailed by 3 at the intermission.
Every time Utah seemed to get a big basket — a Dallin Bachynski dunk, a Dakarai Tucker 3-pointer, a Jakob Poeltl shot off the glass — UCLA stormed back to the other end.
It was a shock for Utah, a team that has made its name on defense throughout its best season in over a decade. On Thursday night, they were a slow-footed group as the Bruins showcased what they could do on offense. Guarding the paint was an especially tough task: Utah had trouble guarding the likes of Powell and Isaac Hamilton as they drove in the lane to lead UCLA to 34 points in the paint.
Afterward in the locker room, Krystkowiak said, he called on each player individually, asking them what they planned to improve for Sunday's game against USC.
"I don't have time to do a bunch of individual meetings with guys [before USC]," he said. "I didn't mince words. We cut right to the chase with what everybody needs to do. It's time for everybody to take a look at, 'Hey, what can I do to improve?'
Added Krystkowiak: "We all had errors, myself included."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
UCLA 69, No. 11 Utah 59
UTAH (16-4)
Taylor 5-11 0-0 14, Reyes 0-2 1-2 1, Loveridge 1-8 0-0 3, Poeltl 4-4 0-1 8, D. Wright 6-9 3-4 15, Chapman 2-3 0-0 4, I. Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Tucker 3-6 0-0 8, Ogbe 0-1 0-0 0, Bachynski 2-3 2-2 6, Kuzma 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 23-47 6-9 59.
UCLA (12-9)
Powell 9-16 5-6 23, Looney 2-6 3-4 7, Hamilton 4-7 2-3 11, B. Alford 4-12 4-4 14, Parker 1-6 2-4 4, Goloman 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 1-1 1-1 3, Welsh 3-3 1-2 7.
Totals 24-52 18-24 69.
Halftime—UCLA 33-30. 3-Point Goals—Utah 7-22 (Taylor 4-9, Tucker 2-5, Loveridge 1-5, Ogbe 0-1, D. Wright 0-2), UCLA 3-13 (B. Alford 2-6, Hamilton 1-2, Goloman 0-1, Looney 0-1, Powell 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Utah 27 (D. Wright 6), UCLA 29 (Looney, Parker 6). Assists—Utah 12 (Taylor 5), UCLA 15 (B. Alford 7). Total Fouls—Utah 16, UCLA 11. A—NA.