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Houston

Utah center Jakob Poeltl just nodded and laughed after Duke star Jahlil Okafor left him standing at midcourt, waiting for a standard greeting that never came during the pregame introductions Friday night.

The Utes were not intimidated by Duke, and the way they aggressively and successfully defended Okafor gave them a genuine shot to upset the Blue Devils in the South Region semifinals at NRG Stadium. Sorry, that's a poor choice of words, because Utah simply could not make a shot until it was too late in a 63-57 defeat.

Whether the cause was stage fright under the bright lights of the Sweet 16, the weird backdrop of a football stadium or the Duke defense, the Utes' offense was mostly a disaster. This was not an embarrassing effort at all. It's just that the Utes did enough good things that their 35-percent shooting performance left them with what-ifs.

"I think we all have some regrets from the game," said senior center Dallin Bachynski, who played well. "We all would like a re-do, really."

So a season that delivered so much progress for Utah's program ended because of the issue that continually bothered the Utes in big games against elite teams. They just couldn't score.

Nobody will want to save a boxscore that shows Delon Wright going 4 of 13 from the field, Jordan Loveridge 2 of 10 and Brandon Taylor 4 of 10 . At one point, reserves Brekkott Chapman and Bachynski were a combined 6 of 7 from the field; the rest of the Utes were 8 of 35.

The Utes looked lost offensively for much of the first half, with only Bachynski's 11-point effort saving them.

The half could have become horrible after Wright picked up his third foul on a very questionable call during a scramble for the ball under the Utah basket with about five minutes remaining. The Utes showed signs of crumbling during his absence as they fell behind by 10 points, but Bachynski's late flurry cut Duke's lead to 27-22 as the Blue Devils failed to score in the last three minutes of the half.

Utah's game plan clearly was focused on Okafor in the post. The Utes were determined to not let him beat them, as they double-teamed him after every catch. He scored only six points, as Poeltl outplayed him. The tradeoff was Justise Winslow's 21 points for Duke.

Not surprisingly, the Utes battled to the end. They created some hope of an epic comeback with a 9-0 run that cut Duke's lead to 49-43, but that's pretty much where the sweetness ended.

Reaching this stage of the tournament is a lasting achievement, a breakthrough for a formerly downtrodden program. This team maximized the talent of Wright and delivered all kinds of memorable moments. But the Utes naturally wanted to do more.

As much as advancing to this point means to the program, the end came abruptly for this particular team. Bachynski understood that possibility, having observed last weekend in Portland how the Utes' "pure joy" that came with beating Georgetown eventually would be replaced by disappointment for every team other than the national champion.

This team will be remembered for spending chunks of the season in the top 10 and contending for the Pac-12 championship. The Utes brought the Huntsman Center back to life, with big crowds and student support contributing to one of the biggest home-court advantages in the conference.

After their Sweet 16 appearance in 2005, the Utes appeared in the NCAA Tournament only once in the next nine seasons. Larry Krystkowiak's program should have much more staying power. Wright's college career is over and Poeltl also may be headed to the NBA, but the Utes should continue to recruit well and make repeated trips to the tournament.

In four years, Krystkowiak's work has been "pretty spectacular," as Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

This season's ending, though? Unspectacular.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribkurt