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Utah was a 19.5-point favorite on Monday night against a Long Beach State team. EvanMiya<\/a> ranks No. 277 in Division I. The Utes are No. 77. For about 25 minutes, you would not have thought the rankings were flipped.<\/p>\n Long Beach led 40-28 at halftime and by as many as 17 in the second half. Utah outscored State 38-23 after the break and escaped the Huntsman Center with a 66-63 win. It was uncomfortable, and nobody in the building pretended otherwise.<\/p>\n A first half to forget<\/p>\n Ten of Utah\u2019s 15 turnovers came in the first half, and Long Beach turned the game\u2019s turnovers into 20 points. Utah scored 14 off Long Beach\u2019s 10. McCaden Adams<\/a> hit four threes on the way to 21 points, and Long Beach shot 40% from deep as a team.<\/p>\n Alex Jensen<\/a> did not dress it up afterward. \u201cYou give up that many points off turnovers; it\u2019s really hard,\u201d he said. He also gave Long Beach credit for the way it started. \u201cThey were ready to go from the beginning and had a good game plan. We were fortunate enough to pull it off at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n His bigger concern was how the Utes played together. \u201cToo many of our guys in different ways are on their own island, in their own world,\u201d Jensen said. He pointed to communication as one example, saying a player can\u2019t be \u201ctrying to get a steal and not talking to other teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n The second half looked like a different team<\/p>\n Jensen said he was fairly calm at halftime. The message was simple. \u201cWe started the second half how we should have started the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Jackson Holcombe<\/a> said the message in the locker room was a bit more direct. \u201cHe just told us to wake up. It looked like we were slow out there, looked like we didn\u2019t want to be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Trey Campbell<\/a> said the team leaned on its preparation. \u201cWe thought back to all the time we put in, everything we\u2019ve been through, and we knew that coming out like that was not what we wanted to do,\u201d he said. \u201cSo obviously trust in our work to help us in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n The numbers back up the turnaround. Utah shot 51% for the game, outrebounded Long Beach 40-27 and held them to 23 points in the second half. Malek Gomma<\/a> grabbed 11 boards despite foul trouble. The Utes also shot just 9-of-19 at the line, which kept the finish tighter than it needed to be.<\/p>\n Campbell and Holcombe carried the load<\/p>\n Campbell finished with 20 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals on 7-of-11 shooting, playing 37 minutes. Jensen understood how important that performance was. \u201cWe don\u2019t win the game without Trey tonight,\u201d he said. He added that Campbell was Utah\u2019s best defender against the two Long Beach scorers who got hot and that he didn\u2019t like how much the team leaned on him.<\/p>\n Holcombe added 14 points and 8 rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting, including a key bucket with about a minute left. Jensen praised his competitiveness while saying he still has to evolve, especially on the little plays that don\u2019t show up in a box score, like being in the right spot on the weak side and talking.<\/p>\n TJ Burch<\/a> deserves a mention too. He went 1-for-6 and scored two points, but the players said he was a team-best plus-14 in 27 minutes off the bench. \u201cMost people see he was 1-for-6, but TJ helped us win that game,\u201d Holcombe said.<\/p>\n Where it leaves Utah<\/p>\n Jensen was honest about where the night landed. \u201cI think we took two steps back and maybe one step forward tonight,\u201d he said. The players said much the same. \u201cAn ugly win beats a pretty loss, but we\u2019ve got a lot we\u2019ve got to get better at,\u201d Holcombe said.<\/p>\n The good news is the second half proved what this team can be. The bad news is the first half proved how fast it can disappear. Utah can\u2019t afford stretches like that against Big 12 competition. Babacar Faye<\/a> also made his Utah debut, playing four minutes, and Jensen said it was great to see him back on the floor.<\/p>\n Utah returns to the Huntsman Center Thursday against Towson.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n