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CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Jeff Johnsen hit a twisting fadeaway 3-pointer with 1:43 left to give eighth-seeded Utah the lead for good and the Utes survived, 48-45, over No. 9 Saint Louis in a first-round Midwest Region game. Johnsen's unlikely basket helped keep Utah coach Rick Majerus' record clean in the first round of the NCAA tournament, with eight victories in eight appearances. It was Johnsen's only basket of the game in seven shots. John Redden had given St. Louis a 44-43 edge with more than two minutes left when he hit 1-of-2 free throws. But as time wound down on Utah's next possession, Johnsen found daylight for a 3-pointer and let it fly. Redden was fouled after stealing the ball from Tony Harvey with 17 seconds left, but hit just 1-of-2 free throws. Phil Cullen and Alex Jensen each hit 1-of-2 from the line for the Utes in the closing seconds for the final margin. Utah played much of the second half without two of its starters. Center Nate Althoff was suffering from back spasms and guard Jeremy Killion sprained the medial colateral ligament in his right knee less than a minute after halftime and did not return. "We've dealt with these sorts of things all year long," Utah forward Hanno Mottola said. "It's frustrating but you have to forget about it and focus on the game ahead." "Everyone had to play out of position," Utah forward Alex Jensen added. "It's hard, but we've had to do it all year." Cullen led Utah with 12 points and Hanno Mottola added 11. Maurice Jeffers scored 10 points and was the only Billiken in double figures. "We fought hard to get this far and it is tough that we ended our season tonight," Redden said. "We missed some free throws down the stretch and that hurt us." Utah (23-8) came into the tournament after struggling down the stretch. It dropped out of the top 25 after winning just four of its last seven regular-season games and suffered a 58-54 loss to Brigham Young in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament. The Billikens (19-14) appeared to have no NCAA Tournament hopes entering the postseason, but under first-year coach Lorenzo Romar, they won four games in as many days, defeating Southern Mississippi, Cincinnati, Tulane and DePaul to claim the Conference USA title. "We worked so hard over the last few weeks to get here," Romar said. "Utah is a good team and it is a tough loss for us." With both teams playing aggressive man-to-man defense, good shots were hard to find, but the shooting was little better from the free throw line. St. Louis shot 38 percent from the field and 41 percent from the line, while Utah shot 38 percent and 47 percent from the line. The Billikens held Utah to a single field goal over the final 7 1/2 minutes of the first half -- a 3-pointer by Alex Jensen -- but managed only a 22-19 halftime lead. Neither team led by more than five points in the game. The Utes led, 7-2, and St. Louis was on top, 21-16. Utah takes on Michigan State in the second round on Saturday.
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