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Houston

There was pain etched across the faces of the Ute players as the final seconds slid off the clock late Friday night against Duke. They hated what they were feeling in those moments, and that's a compliment to them. For a bunch of guys in a once-lost basketball program that had been found, again, thanks to their accomplishments, the Sweet 16 wasn't good enough.

It will be in the weeks and years ahead. Just not yet, not in the immediate wash of a match against a storied opponent that they envisioned playing to a different result, a better end.

The game against the Blue Devils was anything but a work of art. It would have taken a rack of ribs slathered in barbecue sauce tied around its neck to get the dog to play with it. It was that uncomely. The Utes hit just better than a third of their shots in the defeat, connecting on a mere 21 of 60 attempts, 4 of 16 from beyond the arc. They handled the ball as though it were filled with dynamite. They scored just 22 points in the first half and stumbled and bumbled from there.

But they did something else, too. On a night when the basketball gods were sniffing at more than smiling on them, in a huge barn of a building analytics indicate is decidedly unkind to players shooting from distance, their depth perception skewed in the vastness of deep space designed for spiraling footballs instead of rotating round balls, they did what they've done a lot this season: They worked their tails to scale a wall that was leaning toward them. They played defense and rebounded hard. Despite their own limitations, they gave themselves at least a chance at beating big, bad Duke.

And when they didn't, they were ticked.

"I just wish I could have left a little more out there," said senior Dallin Bachynski, who came off the bench to score 11 points in 12 minutes. "I tried playing hard, and I wish I could have done a little more."

Said Delon Wright, the man who led the Utes all season and, under the brightest lights here, hit 4 of 13 shots: "It was tough. I feel like we could have won that game. It was just one of those game when we weren't clicking."

Added Jakob Poeltl, with a bit of disdain, mixed with disgust: "We played hard, but we couldn't really finish it off at the end."

The Utes couldn't beat Duke at the end, but they finished just fine.

Their 2014-15 season will be remembered by most who watched it, ether in fragments or in its entirety, as a huge step forward. They completed their year with a record of 26-9, having won two games in Utah's first NCAA Tournament appearance in six seasons. It's remarkable that just a few years back, Utah won six games and was viewed as a laughably, historically bad outfit.

Nobody's laughing now.

Larry Krystkowiak and his diligent group of players have brought Ute basketball back. They played that tough defense this season, even in games when the offense, like Friday night, went missing. It's difficult to play nasty D when the ball's not dropping at the other end. But that was Utah's signature, one way or the other, and it kept the Utes in nearly every game.

Friday night, Utah limited Jahlil Okafor, a lot of people's pick as the No. 1 selection in the coming NBA draft, a kid who had averaged nearly 24 points in the NCAA Tournament's first two games, to just six points. That's a ridiculously hard thing to do.

"They've been one of the outstanding defensive teams in the country, and I can see why," Mike Krzyzewski said. "Just their double-team was great, just about took Jahlil out of the game. … And so, we know we beat a really good team that was extremely well-coached."

Even as the loss hurt, Bachynski took pride in the effort expended: "I know that all our guys are not quitters, not a single one of us would stop fighting by the end of the game, whether we're down eight, nine or five or two, we're going to keep fighting and going. It's just the kind of players that we've got."

Near the end of the night, Brandon Taylor put perspective on speed dial when he said, "We didn't get the win, but it's a blessing to be a part of this team."

He added: "I'm extremely appreciative."

All the Utes will be, long after defeat's pain wears off.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.