USC wins 'lowdown' showdown with Utah, 62-45

LOS ANGELES — Something had to give in Saturday's "lowdown" at the Galen Center. One team was going to win.

Unfortunately for the Utah Utes, it wasn't them.

In a poorly attended Pac-12 game pitting two teams on the skids, USC applied the brakes on a nine-game losing streak with a 62-45 victory over University of Utah.

The Trojans' first conference win extended the Utes' lack of success away from the Huntsman Center to 13 games over two seasons. They haven't prevailed outside of Salt Lake City since Feb. 19, 2011, when Chris Hines hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to defeat New Mexico 62-60 in The Pit.

Speaking of pits, it didn't take long for Utah (5-16, 2-7) to fall into a depth of despair in this one.

USC (6-16, 1-8) made its first four shots from the field and never trailed. The Trojans went on to build a 32-14 halftime advantage. Utah's first-half struggles included 5-of-17 shooting and nine turnovers.

Although the Utes did manage to close the gap a bit in the second half, they drew no closer than 12 points down the stretch.

USC entered the game with five scholarship players sidelined by season-ending injuries. Sophomore forward Dewayne Dedmon was the latest to join the mix. The 7-footer injured his knee in Thursday's 74-50 loss to Colorado.

In the end, though, it was rebuilding Utah that looked more shorthanded — as was the case earlier in the week in a 76-49 setback at UCLA.

After leaving California empty-handed, the Utes will try to regroup at home. They host University of Oregon on Thursday and Oregon State University on Saturday.

Email: dirk@desnews.com

Twitter: @DirkFacer