Utah Basketball Grinds Out 69 -66 Win Over Cincinnati
Jan 28, 2025, 10:23 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2025, 11:26 am
SALT LAKE CITY—In a gritty, physical game, it was Utah’s free throw shooting of all things that led them to a 69-66 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Utes improve their record to 12-8, 4-5, and now sit 10th in the Big 12 Conference.
Given their struggles from the line this season, Utah’s 12-of-15 shooting in the second half was the difference.
Utah was led by Gabe Madsen, who seemed to find a groove tonight. He finished with 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting but went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
This was a physical game, perhaps even a little chippy, but Utah got it done tonight.
FINAL from the Huntsman‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/edeqttBCp7
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 29, 2025
Starters for Utah against Cincinnati
Craig Smith stuck with the same starting five, which were as follows:
Mike Sharavjamts, Gabe Madsen, Jake Wahlin, Ezra Ausar, and Lawson Lovering.
First Half, Cincinnati Vs. Utah
Utah and Cincinnati opened the game, exchanging baskets with each other. Through four minutes of action, the two teams each knocked down five field goals, including one from 3-point range. Ezra Ausar got off to a particularly strong start. He got going on the defensive end by blocking an alley-oop attempt, knocked down a 3-pointer, threw down a two-handed slam, and and a bucket from a post-up.
15:42 – Ausar kept it rolling after the timeout, knocking down a leaner at the rim through contact. On the next possession, Utah ran a great action to get Mike Sharavjamts an open 3-point look at the top, which he knocked down and got the game to 16-14. Both teams went scoreless until the next media timeout.
11:37 – After breaking the Cincinnati press, Utah got into a nice offensive action, that resulted in a Keanu Dawes cut from the backside and big dunk.
LORDY @keanu_28, being mean to the rim‼️
cc: @hunterericksonn #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/aHVOTPkDop
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 29, 2025
On the next possession, Lovering hit Wahlin diving to the rim for a layup. Unfortunately, Utah turned it over on the next two possessions, which led to Cincinnati taking a 23-20 lead and a Utah timeout.
After the break, Ausar was called for an offensive foul as he fended off a Bearcat leaning on him in the post. Utah did get a defensive stop and on that ensuing possession, drove baseline from the left side and threw down another dunk.
On the next two possessions, G. Madsen seemed to get going. He first knocked down a jumper at the right elbow, and then, on the following possession, a 3-pointer from the right wing gave Utah a 27-26 lead.
6:20 – After the timeout, Utah worked to get G. Madsen another look. He finished with a jumper at the top of the circle. Then he converted a driving layup attempt through contact, which was his fourth consecutive make. On the next possession, Sharavjamts drove to the rim and dished to the opposite corner, where Dawes knocked down an open 3-pointer.
Shark finds the open man in traffic for the triple‼️🎯@mongolshark 🤝 @keanu_28 #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/1msT1oScPm
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 29, 2025
3:17—This was a tough stretch for Ausar. He was blocked at the rim by a lot of contact. On the next possession, he was whistled for traveling, again, while dealing with a lot of contact. His frustration was visible, and he ultimately was whistled for a technical foul, but Cincinnati missed both free-throw attempts.
Utah had a wild final 90 seconds of the half. Sharavjamts got past his defender into the midrange and threw a no-look pass to G. Madsen, cutting from the opposite wing. He then dumped it off to Wahlin for a layup as help rotated his way.
Some pretty Runnin' Utes ball movement leads to the @WahlinJake bucket‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/AC1twZkGDM
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 29, 2025
On the next possession, Wahlin was fouled going up for a dunk, again on a back-cut dish from Sharavjamts. He missed both free throws but hauled in the rebound, leading to an easy one for him inside. On Utah’s final possession, Sharavjamts again drove past his defender from the left side, and though he missed the initial layup, he tipped in his own miss.
Utah finished the half on a 6-0 spurt over the final 1:48, which gave them a 40-34 edge going into the locker room.
Second Half – Utah 40, Cincinnati 34
After a Cincinnati turnover sparked by Sharvajamt’s defensive effort, Utah got out into transition, which led to an emphatic Sharavjamts two-hand slam.
Meet the first Mongolian to every play NCAA Division 1 basketball.
Mike Sharavjamts gets up! @UtahMBB pic.twitter.com/l2uz1Gf39G
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 29, 2025
On the next possession, Madsen got to the rim and missed a layup, but Lovering was there for a putback slam. However, those were Utah’s only two field goals over five minutes of action. Fortunately, the defense preserved their lead, limiting the Bearcats to 1-of-6 shooting from the field.
14:51 – Utah continued to struggle on the offensive end. They went scoreless for two minutes, which allowed the Bearcats to tie the game up at 44-44, and Utah called a timeout.
The timeout didn’t improve the offensive performance much, as Utah remained scored for the next two minutes. Meanwhile, the Bearcats knocked two 3-pointers to take a 50-44 lead.
10:59 – After the break, Dawes and Hunter Erickson got going. The two combined for 12 points, which included an Erickson 3-pointer and Dawes going 3-for-3 from the free throw line, to go along with two layups. The defense got stops, which allowed Utah to retake a 56-52 lead by the next media timeout.
That's too strong, KD 💪@MiroLittle23 🤝 @keanu_28 #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/ha4x9pHMvN
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 29, 2025
7:06 – After the break, Zach Keller converted a layup inside. A couple of possessions later, he followed that up with a drive where he was fouled and went to the line, where he knocked down both freebies. On the next possession, Utah worked to get G. Madsen a look in the midrange, ultimately fouling him on a jumper. He went to the line and sunk both free throws.
Mike Sharavjamts was shoulder-checked out of bounds, which led to a flagrant one call. After review, the call was upgraded to a flagrant two, and Day Day Thomas was ejected from the game. That got Utah to the final media timeout.
3:58 – After the break, Sharavjamts missed both free throws, and Utah then turned it over on a jump ball call. Cincinnati then scored four straight to tie the game up, 62-62.
After a Utah timeout at the 2:14 mark, Utah went to G. Madsen. He knocked down a jumper from the right elbow, as he curled off a Lovering screen at the top. On the next possession, G. Madsen got the ball in a similar action and was fouled, where he went to the line and sunk both free throws.
BIGTIME mid-range bucket for @GabeMadsen53 to put the Utes up late‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/qUBxV8bsjG
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 29, 2025
Over the final 20 seconds, Madsen went to the line and connected on three of them, which secured the 69-66 victory over the Bearcats.
UP NEXT – Utah at Oklahoma State
Utah again hits the road for a quick trip, this time to Gallagher-Iba Arena, where it’ll face off against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Feb. 1, beginning at 1 p.m. (MST). James Westling will have the on ESPN+ alongside former Cowboy Bryndon Manzer as Utah looks to secure its first in-season sweep of a Big 12 foe against Oklahoma State.
