Utah’s Season Comes To End After 86-84 Loss To Butler In College Basketball Crown Tournament
Mar 31, 2025, 3:23 PM | Updated: Apr 1, 2025, 1:15 pm
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah basketball’s season has officially come to an end after a tough 86-84 loss to the Butler Bulldogs in the opening round of the College Basketball Crown tournament.
The Runnin’ Utes did exactly that in the first half of the game with 46 points and a four-point edge at halftime. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs got it going midway through the second half with a 19-5 run that fueled them to victory.
Keanu Dawes led the way with another double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Ezra Ausar added 15 points, while Gabe Madsen scored 17 points on 18 attempts from the floor.
Starters for Utah in the College Basketball Crown opener
Josh Eilert switched up the starting five, which was as follows:
Mike Sharavjamts, Gabe Madsen, Jake Wahlin, Keanu Dawes, Lawson Lovering
First Half, Runnin’ Utes Vs. Bulldogs
Utah started the game quite strong, with Keanu Dawes, Gabe Madsen, and Lawson Lovering scoring on the opening three possessions. They opened up with a 7-2 advantage, but then Butler found a groove from deep. Utah finished the opening four minutes 6-of-8 from the field, while Butler went 4-of–last-4 to go into the first media timeout tied 14-14. Lawson Lovering threw down a dunk and was fouled prior to the timeout.
Wahlin finds a diving Lovering for the slam and foul!
📺 @FS1#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/eS7xwXGlFl
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 31, 2025
15:38 – Lovering missed his free throw attempt but hauled in the miss, which ended up a second-chance opportunity for Gabe Madsen, who knocked down the 3-pointer.
After a Butler timeout, the Utes continued to hold onto a lead. Miro Little scored a layup and pull-up jumper, while Ezra Ausar added another at the rim. The Bulldogs were able to tie it up, 23-23, by the next media timeout.
10:19 – Utah started with the ball on the baseline, which led to an easy jump hook at the rim for Ausar. Unfortunately, Utah would go scoreless for two minutes, which allowed Butler to take a 26-25 lead. Then Zach Keller drilled a 3-pointer from the top to give Utah 28-26 advantage at the next media timeout.
7:48 – Butler converted two free throws after the timeout to tie the game back up. On Utah’s next possession, Sharavjamts got into the paint and dumped it off to a cutting Keller, who threw down a big two-handed jam.
Special delivery from @ZachKeller19!!! 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/S5lobxP3Ik
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 31, 2025
Following those free throws, Dawes had a great individual run. He scored the next eight points, either at the rim or the free throw line. Then Keller knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game. That gave Utah the biggest lead of the game, an eight-point cushion, 41-33.
3:02 – After the final media timeout, Butler cut Utah’s lead down to 43-40 after a couple of possessions. Then Ausar scored a basket, after driving to the rim and finishing through contact and foul, he converted the free throw for an old-fashioned 3-point play.
.@ezraausar finishes with contact for the and-1!
📺 @FS1#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/2R2IzB04AQ
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 31, 2025
That would be the only bucket for Utah over the final three minutes, but they took a 46-42 lead into halftime.
Second Half – Utah 46, Butler 42
Utah kept the offensive momentum rolling to start the second half. The Utes scored the first five points of the period, with Wahlin scoring a layup and Lovering throwing down another dunk with the foul, and then knocking down the free throw.
After Butler converted a 3-pointer, Wahlin and Lovering continued to roll on offense. Lovering threw down another dunk, then Wahlin converted two free throws and another 3-pointer to give Utah a 58-47.
Wahlin joins Dawes in double-figures with this triple to give us our largest lead of the game!!
📺 @FS1 #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/erGZTCRH0J
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 31, 2025
Ausar got into the paint again and got an easy one to go. That would be the last bucket for Utah for over two minutes, which allowed Butler to cut Utah’s ten-point lead in half, 62-57.
11:24 – Butler continued to roll after the timeout. They tied it up after a Pierre Brooks 3-pointer and Andre Screen leaner. Utah finally ended their scoreless stretch with Dawes knocking down a pair of free throws.
Brooks knocked down another 3-pointer to give Butler a 65-64 lead, but Dawes answered with a 3-pointer of his own on the next possession. The Bulldogs continued to gain momentum as they extended their run to 19-5 and took a 71-67 lead into the third media timeout.
6:49 – Ausar ended a three-minute scoreless stretch with a layup. Then, on the next possession, he was fouled in transition and went to the line where he converted 1-of-2, which made it a 73-70 Butler lead. After a Butler turnover, Ausar was fouled and, again, made 1-of-2 at the line.
Finally, Madsen knocked down a 3-pointer to give Utah the lead yet again, 76-75, but that didn’t last long as Butler’s Kolby King scored a layup to give them the 77-76 lead at the final media timeout.
HUGE 👌 from @GabeMadsen53 to give us the leads back thanks to the OREB from @lawson_lovering!!
📺 @FS1#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/wNVZXLav1Y
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 31, 2025
3:27 – After the break, Ausar found himself wide open at the rim for an easy dunk. Unfortunately, Utah left Landon Moore wide open for a 3-pointer on the other end. Fortunately, Madsen answered with a 3-pointer of his own on the next possession to give Utah an 81-80 lead.
Butler responded with two consecutive baskets to take an 84-81 lead, and Utah called a timeout with 1:28 left.
After the timeout, Utah worked to free up Madsen for a 3-pointer, which he knocked down to tie it up. The Bulldogs then called a timeout with 1:08 left and the Utes were able to get a defensive stop.
On the ensuing possession, Utha worked the offense late into the clock before Little settled for a tough fadeaway jumper that missed. After securing the rebound and milking the clock, the Bulldogs called a timeout with 12.8 seconds left.
With the ball, Brooks drove from the top to score a layup with 3.2 seconds left, and Utah called their final timeout.
Utah had to go the full length of the court with Ausar, who actually nearly hit the runner from behind the 3-point line, but it clanked off the backboard and the front of the rim. Butler knocked off Utah, 86-84 and the Utes offseason officially began.
