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Show "WE LEARNED OUR LESSON" BY GRIFFIN ADAMS /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY CHRIS AYERS n Utah's narrow 53-49 loss at No. 16 San Diego State on Tuesday, the Runnin' Utes shot just 16-for-50 from the field, with half of those shots being from three-point range. Thanks to a disruptive SDSU defense and a hostile crowd, the offensive game plan Utah originally had went out the window. Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak couldn't pinpoint a single phase of the game that doomed the Utes on offense, but he did mention how he believes multiple elements can lead to a downfall. "It takes one element for the entire ship to sink:' Krystkowiak said. "On one play, if one guy decides that he doesn't want to be in the right spot to run that play, then it doesn't work:" In addition to the poor shooting, the Runnin' Utes turned the ball over 18 times. Much of that should be credited to the length and athleticism of the Aztecs, but point guard Brandon Taylor knows he and his team need to do a better job holding onto the basketball. "You've gotta take care of the ball so you can be competitive in the game," Taylor said. "There's no way we should have 18 turnovers. We take pride in taking care of the ball in practice, so we just gotta make it correlate towards the game:' On the flipside, Utah played a great defensive game of its own on Tuesday, forcing SDSU to shoot just under 33 percent from the field. Additionally, the team recorded 10 blocks on the night to go along with its 38 rebounds, out-rebounding an Aztec squad used to dominating the glass. While some teams may crumble or collapse after an early-season loss like this, Utah knows there is a long season to play. "I thought it was a hell of a game:'Taylor said. "It stung us, but it's definitely not going to hinder us or keep us from moving forward. We learned our lesson ... Now, we just take it on forward with the season. It's definitely not something that's going to stagnate us or keep us stationary:" Utah returns to the court against UC Riverside on Friday in the Huntsman Center. On paper ,the Highlanders are clearly an inferior opponent, but Krystkowiak refuses to take any team lightly. "It's a little hard to get a read on a team this early in the season:' Krystkowiak said. "But I know they've got some talent ... It's a good team and they're running some great stuff. We've gotta be dialed in and ready defensively." The Utes and UC Riverside are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. MT. g.adams@chronicle.utah.edu @GriffDoug ONE LAST "MAGICAL MOMENT" GRIFFIN ADAMS obvious reasons, Utah needs to win its game on S aturday against No. 15 Arizona. The Utes still have a slim Saturday chance, albeit almost "Dumb and Dumber" slim, to grasp the Pac-12 South title, and it all starts with them beating the Wildcats at home this weekend. However, there's another reason Utah should win this game — a loss just wouldn't be fair. This season has been a roller coaster of emotions for Utah fans, but was it not entertaining? People around the country may look at Utah's 7-3 record and not even think twice about it, but here in Salt Lake City, there is much more to this team than just its record. This team provided dazzling kickoff and punt returns by Kaelin Clay. It brought punts thatTom Hackett seemed to control with his mind at times. It gave fans game-winning touchdown throws by Travis Wilson and gut-checking kicks from Andy Phillips. But the Utes have also brought heartbreak. They surrendered a flukey loss to lowly Washington State. They couldn't get a win in an overtime game that slipped away from their grasp and the Oregon game left fans wondering "what could have been." Utah has seen its fair share of ups and downs this season, but one thing that is for certain is that this has been a magical year. Earlier in the season, I wrote a column that this is the most boring, but entertaining team in all of college football — and I stick by it. Last week, Utah played Stanford to a 7-7 tie by BY BEN JASAREVIC /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY JAMESON CLIFTON U PHOTO BY CONOR BAR the end of regulation, as the game saw many three-and-outs and no offense. I have to admit, to most, this was probably the most boring game in the world. But thanks to Hackett's punting prowess and the defense's ability to get to opposing quarterbacks in its sleep, the game was still fun and worth watching. The reason it wouldn't be fair for Utah to lose tomorrow's game to Arizona is because this team and this fan base has been through too much this season. From the close losses to the key injuries, the Utes have been knocking on the door the entire way. How could they end this special season with a home loss that would eat at the departing seniors for quite some time? 8 THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2014 } It just wouldn't be right. There's no way safety Brian Blechen will get beat deep in this game. Sorry, Solomon Anu, but you better make yourself comfortable on the ground because Nate Orchard will be in your grill all game. Oh, and that Arizona special teams unit better be ready for Clay, who I'm willing to bet will take one to the house in this one. This team cares too much about each other and its seniors to lose to the Wildcats. It won't be a blowout, but the Utes will make sure they give their seniors one more magical moment. g.adams@chronicle.utah.edu @GriffDoug tah heads to No. 1 Stanford still looking for its first road win in Pac-12 play.The Utes are 0-8 on the road in conference play with only two away games remaining. At home, though, Utah has been doing some damage. In the last two weeks the Utes have turned their season around, going a perfect 4-0 with three upsets over Top-20 schools, including a huge five set win over No. 2 Washington. "I think we bonded well in the last two weeks in terms of everybody in it together, and so we just have to take that same feeling and mentality on the road': said head coach Beth Launiere. Even with her team's poor record on the road, Launiere said there are positives to playing away from home. "Sometimes it's nice to play on the road and just be you against everybody, and hopefully we can carry that mentality,' Launiere said. "You just get on the road, you're there for one thing, and it's easier to focus:' Players are aware of the team's road woes but are hoping recent home success will follow them. "We have to focus on us and making their gym our gym with how we play,' said senior Chelsey Schofield-Olsen. The recent success has seen the Utes go from unranked to No. 23 in the country — its first ranking since August 2009. "It's awesome, but we were doing well, and we weren't ranked, so we know that the rankings really don't mean anything': Schofield-Olsen said. Despite the four-match winning streak, the Utes have no room for complacency. "They know we have to still do some things, and I know they really want to make the tournament': Launiere said. "I think if anything, it re-motivated us. It put us back in position to have these matches matter." Senior Shelby Dalton said the team can't get caught up in recent success because there is still work to be done. "We've been playing really well, but we can't let that get to our heads': Dalton said. "We have to play really good against these teams, especially on their courts." Many times this year Launiere has told her team there are no easy matches in the Pac-12. There is no better proof of this than playing No. 2 Washington followed by No. 1 Stanford. "I know my team, and they love this stuff — they would love to go in there and knock Stanford off': Launiere said. "We're not talking about it, we are just going in and playing volleyball against a good team — we better play well, 'cause we are gonna have to." Stanford is undefeated. The Cardinal gets most of their success through their middles. Inky Ajanaku and Merete Lutz are the two middle blockers for Stanford and both rank in the top five in the NCAA in hitting percentages. The two blockers are hitting .447 and .454, respectively. Launiere has a different game plan for each and hopes it can slow down the duo. "You definitely don't want to go right at Lutz — she's big, and so is [Ajanaku]," Launiere said. "So you want to try and make them move a little bit. We want to try to use our quickness by moving our middles around." The last time the teams played, Utah was able to go four sets with the Cardinal at the Huntsman Center. After facing Stanford, the Utes will head to Berkeley to take on Cal. The Golden Bears picked up their first conference win last weekend by upsetting No. 25 USC. Utah is aware they can't sleep on California. Earlier this season, the Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Utes mounted a comeback and won the match in five sets. "We've got to be ready for that match — they're playing for pride. It's a program with a lot of history and tradition," Launiere said. "We've gotta go in there and win a big match. It's not gonna be easy." First serve from Stanford is set for 9 p.m. MT. blasarevic@chronicle.utah.edu @Beniasarevic 9 |