Runnin’ Utes got their first — and maybe only — glimpse of Bronny James

Both the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah were set to play members of the LeBron James family this week.

In the end, only the Runnin’ Utes ended up facing a James — Bronny James, the eldest son of the four-time NBA MVP — in their four-point loss Thursday night at USC, while LeBron James missed the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Jazz in Salt Lake City the day before.

Utah’s loss to the Trojans is potentially the only time that the Utes will face the younger James, who is a true freshman at USC.

The Utes and Trojans only play once during the regular season — sub-.500 USC beat Utah 68-64 at the Galen Center — and outside of the two teams playing next month in the Pac-12 tournament, it’s unlikely that Utah and USC will play again in the near future, as the Utes head to the Big 12 next year and the Trojans to the Big Ten.

How did James look in his first matchup against the Utes?

The 6-foot-4 James, a four-star recruit who missed the start of the season after suffering cardiac arrest during a practice last summer, ended the night playing 21 minutes and had seven points, three rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and a steal.

He finished with a plus/minus of 6, third-best on his team, and made several significant plays for the Trojans, among them:

Just moments after subbing in for the first time during the first half, James drew an offensive foul on Utah’s Deivon Smith.James, who shot 2 of 4 from the field, came off a screen and made a straightaway 3-pointer on his first shot attempt of the evening, giving USC a 21-11 lead.

During a key 9-0 Trojans run in the second half after Utah briefly took a two-point lead, James blocked a Smith jumper that was the second of 10 straight misses for the Utes, then moments later USC scored to retake the lead.Two minutes after that, he made his only two free-throw attempts of the night after getting fouled on a fastbreak opportunity.Moments later, he stripped Utah’s Gabe Madsen of the ball on a drive, then knocked the ball off Madsen before it fell out of bounds for a Utes turnover.Then, with just over eight and a half minutes to play following another Utah turnover, he threw an outlet pass to Isaiah Collier for a breakaway dunk to cap the nine-point run and force the Utes to call timeout.

Later in the second half and moments after Branden Carlson ended a streak of 10 straight field-goal misses by Utah, James came up with a hustle play to grab his only offensive rebound of the night, then turned it into a driving bucket to give USC a 64-58 lead with 4:27 to play.

It was hustle plays like the aforementioned putback that helped the Trojans own a 14-4 edge in second-chance points.

James was also praised by his coach for his defense, particularly in the second half.

“He was terrific tonight. He played outstanding defense. He made a couple defensive mistakes in the first half, in the second half he learned from that. We talked to him about it at halftime and in the second half, he was terrific,” USC coach Andy Enfield told reporters.

After James subbed out with 3:46 to play, Utah went on a 6-0 run to make it a two-point game in the final minute.

James re-entered the contest with 33 seconds remaining, and he was the closest defender when Madsen turned the ball over with 17 seconds left, a critical turnover that cost Utah the chance to tie or take the lead.

“I just thought he played great, smart player. He had been struggling with his shooting. We want him to shoot open shots, but as you saw tonight, he can affect winning in a variety of ways and he did that,” Enfield said.