Ezra Ausar Powers Utah Basketball To 99-73 Win Over Arizona State
Mar 1, 2025, 7:07 PM | Updated: Mar 2, 2025, 9:30 am
Utah's Ezra Ausar vs Arizona State. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah basketball showed a lot in their return to the Huntsman Center as they defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils, 99-73.
This was the Runnin’ Utes first home game since the coaching change, and they played a good 40 minutes of basketball against the Sun Devils.
Led by Ezra Ausar’s 25 points, including 11-of-14 from the line, the Sun Devils had no answers for him in the second half. Keanu Dawes notched another double-double with 15 and 11, and Mike Sharavjamts added 14 points and 6 assists.
This was a valuable win as the Utes improve to 16-13 overall and 8-10 in Big 12 play. They currently sit 10th in the Big 12 standings with two games left to play.
Starters for Utah Basketball against Arizona State
Josh Eilert stuck with the same starting five, which were as follows:
Mike Sharavjamts, Gabe Madsen, Jake Wahlin, Ezra Ausar, and Lawson Lovering.
First Half, Runnin’ Utes Vs. Sun Devils
It took a couple of possessions but Utah scored first with a Lawson Lovering bucket at the rim. Utah’s Ezra Ausar then scored the next two baskets, including a dunk off of a beautiful no-look pass from Mike Sharavjamts. The Utes held a 6-2 lead but then the Sun Devils ripped off seven unanswered to take a 9-6 lead at the first media timeout.
14:54 – Utah worked to get Gabe Madsen a look but he created another easy one for Lovering instead. Ausar added another bucket on a little fadeaway out of the post. Wahlin scored an easy putback off of a Sharavjamts miss. Arizona State’s Joson Sanon knocked down a 3-pointer to give ASU a 14-11 at the second media timeout.
To this point of the game, Utah was 6-of-12 from the field, while Arizona State was 6-of-14.
11:57 – After the break, Arizona State extended their lead to 19-12. Then Mason Madsen knocked down a 3-pointer and followed that up on the next possession with heady backcuts on consecutive possessions for easy ones to tie it up.
Make that 7 straight or @masmadsen to tie us up‼️
cc: @lawson_lovering #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/slsGaFp7no
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 2, 2025
7:02 – On the baseline inbound after the timeout, Sharavjamts connected with Ausar for an alley-oop. The next time down the floor, Ausar was fouled and knocked down both free throws. Sharavjamts knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer, then after a defensive stop, Lovering converted a layup in transition.
Utah generated good looks offensively and protected the ball fairly well. However, Arizona State knocked down 3-point shots to maintain their lead.
The Shark on the hunt‼️🎯@mongolshark #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/IFC30nbCua
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 2, 2025
3:41 – Utah got out in transition after a turnover and Dawes threw a lob to Caleb Lohner for a big dunk. Arizona State responded with a quick 5-0 spurt, which extended their lead to six. Then Dawes got a layup and dunk on back-to-back possessions off of good ball movement.
Utah took a timeout with about 40 seconds left in the half. That allowed Utah to reset and led to a Dawes dunk off of a great dish from Wahlin at the top. Utah got a defensive stop to end the half and went into the locker down 43-41.
The Runnin’ Utes finished the half 16-of-28 from the field, but just 2-of-11 from 3-point range. Perhaps more encouraging than anything else was Utah’s 7-of-8 shooting from the free throw line. Defensively, Utah did not put up much resistance as the Sun Devils converted 57% of their shots, including 7-of-12 from deep.
Second Half – Utah 41, Arizona State 43
The Utes started the second frame with the ball, where Lovering drew a foul and knocked down 1-of-2 from the line. Then Sharavjamts knocked down consecutive baskets, including a 3-pointer from the right side to give Utah a 45-44 lead.
UTES UP‼️@mongolshark hits from deep to give the Utes the lead‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/HR6v8bMrJm
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 2, 2025
Then Ausar scored on consecutive possessions, a layup and dunk, but the Sun Devils continued to answer on the other end. Ausar was fouled on another attempt at the rim, which led to the media break.
15:14 – Ausar knocked down both free throws after the timeout to give Utah the 53-52 lead. After a defensive stop and rebound, Dawes finished with a layup on the other end. Then another defensive stop led to a G. Madsen 3-pointer in semi-transition, that capped a 7-0 spurt led to an ASU timeout.
He's still feeling it🔥@masmadsen from deep‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/W2QuLXgqrI
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 2, 2025
M. Madsen knocked down a 3-pointer, which gave Utah a 61-54 lead. Later, Ausar showed off a nifty spin move attack the rim and was fouled. He went to he line and knocked down, which put him at 8-for-8 from the line.
After ASU closed the gap to 63-61, the Utes went on a bit of a run. They ripped off eight unanswered, thanks to Zach Keller and Hunter Erickson both knocking down 3-pointers. Utah pushed their lead out to 71-61 during this run.
Dawes had an emphatic rejection that could be heard throughout the Huntsman Center.
NO. SIR. @keanu_28 DENIES🚫#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/b0RwQuvveE
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 2, 2025
Ausar went to the line and converted two more, then drew another foul on the next possession, sending the game to the third media break. At this point, Utah held a 73-61 advantage.
7:40—After the break, Ausar missed both free throws, but Utah got a defensive stop. Ausar took it the other way in transition and drew a foul. He made the first but missed the second; however, he got the rebound and put back his own miss. After a pair of Arizona State free throws, Keller knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to give Utah a 79-63 lead.
Always right when you need it 😎@GabeMadsen53 triple‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/S0GEdiELkQ
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 2, 2025
The Utes continued to extend their lead in the final few minutes. Led by Dawes, Ausar, and Sharavjamts, they finished the game on a 17-6 run. With 1:32 left, they emptied the bench and cruised into the 99-73 victory.
UP NEXT – West Virginia vs Utah
The Utes will host West Virginia for their final home game of the 2024-25 regular-season on Tuesday, March 4, as interim head coach Josh Eilert squares off against his former team, this time at the helm of the Runnin’ Utes. Ted Emrich will be calling the action for fans on ESPN+ alongside former Stanford head coach Jerod Haase starting at 7 p.m. (MST) while the Utah basketball program honors its seniors ahead of the game.
