Four Utes scored in double-figures as Utah picked up its third conference win of the season with a 60-56 victory over Stanford Thursday night on the road.

The first half was more both teams taking turns piling up points than the back-and-forth action we got for much of the second half. Stanford opened the game on a 12-4 run out of the gates, but Utah answered back immediately with a 9-0 run of its own.

Over a three-minute stretch late in the first half, Stanford used a 9-0 run of its own to take an eight-point lead. The Cardinal went into the locker room at half up 28-21.

In the first five minutes of the second half, Utah was able to get the margin down to a single possession on three different occasions but couldn’t step ahead. A quick burst of triples from Stanford saw the Cardinal go up as many as nine with 12:48 to play.

The two sides exchanged buckets for the next seven minutes or so as Utah’s Both Gach started to get himself going a bit from the field but Stanford’s James Keefe was able to to keep some distance on the scoreboard with his foul-shooting.

With five minutes to play, and Utah down six, the Utes mounted one last charge.

They closed the game on a 12-2 run, forcing misses on seven of Stanford’s final eight shots from the floor. Gach finished with 13 points, as did Brandon Carlson. Gabe Madsen and Rollie Worster each added 11 points.

Utah held Stanford to just 35% shooting in the second half while forcing seven turnovers.

The Cardinal got 11 points from Keefe and Jaiden Delaire, with Brandon Angel pitching in 10.

The win for Utah (10-16, 3-13 Pac-12) snapped a string of 12 straight road losses. It’ll head to Cal on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off.

Stanford (15-11, 8-8 Pac-12) faces Colorado at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT. With The Cardinal having lost three of four now, they’ll likely need some serious help in the conference tournament to get back into NCAA tournament discussions.