The Utah men’s basketball team faced a tough challenge on Tuesday night as they took on the No. 3-ranked Iowa State Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum. Despite a spirited effort, the Runnin' Utes fell short,

Unfortunately for Utah, Iowa State’s swarming defense sparked a long, defeating spurt after that. The Cyclones went on a 21-3 run to end the first half, as the Utes went 8 ½ minutes between field goals and turnover issues slowed them.

Reserve Curtis Jones scored 23 points and No. 3 Iowa State pulled away for an 82-59 win over Utah in a Big 12 Conference matchup Tuesday night in Ames, Iowa.

After the Utes were blown out in their first two conference games, Craig Smith emphasized his team’s need to keep fighting.

Utah’s third Big 12 Conference game ended like its first two — with a loss. The Runnin’ Utes showed brief, better stretches of competitiveness against No. 3 Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday night,