Runnin’ Utes Work To A 84-53 Win Over Utah Tech
Nov 22, 2024, 5:31 PM
Utah Mason Madsen. PHOTO courtesy by Utah Athletics
SALT LAKE CITY— Utah basketball returned to the comfy confines of the Jon M. Huntsman Center for a Friday afternoon tilt against Utah Tech and Craig Smith’s Runnin’ Utes got the 84-53 win over the Trailblazers.
Gabe Madsen bounced back today with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting overall but just 3-of-9 from 3-point range.
The bench came up big for Utah today. Keanu Dawes finished with 14points and 9 rebounds, while Mason Madsen added 12 points.
Final from the Huntsman!
Thank you to all the fans who came out this Friday afternoon, we will see you again on Tuesday! #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/kGkP6pBqq6
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) November 23, 2024
It felt like Utes could never hit the final gear offensively but they were quite effective on the defensive end.
Here’s a recap from the game.
Starting Lineup
Utah will start Miro Little, Gabe Madsen, Mike Sharavjamts, Jake Wahlin, and Ezra Ausar for the fourth time this season.
Starting center Lawson Lovering remains unavailable for Craig Smith, as do backups Zach Keller and Jayden Teat.
First Half
Utah started the game with three easy ones at the at the rim. Gabe Madsen scored the first bucket, catching it at the top and driving to the rim for a layup. Jake Wahlin scored the next bucket on a backcut assisted by Ezra Ausar. Then G. Madsen finished another layup, in transition, going behind the back on the gather around a defender.
The Utes got multiple stops to start the game as well and Utah Tech called a timeout at the 18:05 mark.
Mike Sharavjamts got on the board off of a cut to the basket and finish over defenders to make it 8-0. Utah then had a couple of empty possessions and turned it over on consecutive plays, which made it 8-3 at the first media timeout of the game.
15:37
Utah’s first substitutions featuredMason Madsen, Hunter Erickson, and Keanu Dawes.
Sharavjamts had a reverse layup to make it 10-4 but then Utah Tech scored a quick seven to take an 11-10 lead.
The energy was not where it needed to be with parts of the second unit. Coach Smith brought back his starters and that sparked another run for Utah.
Utah Tech took an 11-10 lead on an inbound play where Utah got caught sleeping Sharavjamts had another layup to regain the lead for Utah. . At the next dead ball, coahh brought back Little, G. Madsen, and Ausar…
G. Madsen knocked down a three on the first possession back on the floor to give Utah a 15-11 lead.
11:01
After the second media timeout, Little knocked down both free throws to make it 17-11. Those two free throws capped off a quick 7-0 scoring spurt in 1:57 of action.
G. Madsen had another layup in semi-transition. He used a hesitation dribble at the 3-point line and blew by his defender for the layup. That gave Utah a 19-11 advantage.
Unfortunately, after the quick 7-0 run , Utah went cold from the field, only converting 1-of-8.
Sharavjamts got out ahead of the pack and threw down a dunk in trasnition. G. Madsen knocked another three to make it 24-15
Little with a blow by of his defender from the top for a layup. Utah got a stop and pushed the pace the other way with Sharavjamts eventually tossing a lob to Dawes for an easy one, which pushed Utah’s lead to 28-17.
6:04
After the three media timeout, Utah finally started to play good, clean basketball. Dawes in particular came to life and had a big impact over the next few minutes.
On the first play after the break, the Utes got another defensive stop and pushed it the other way. Sharavjamts eventually found Dawes trailing the play, who knocked down a three from the top.
The two connected on the next possession as Sharavjamts hit Dawes on a pick-n-roll dive, that resulted in a big dunk.
Dawes did it on the the defensive end as well. He had a big time block, denying a fastbreak layup attempt. Then took the ball the other way, got by a perimeter dender and went up for a dunk, but was fouled and the game hit the final media timeout of the half.
3:41
Dawes missed both free throws after the break but then had a layup on the next possession to make it 35-22. This was his final bucket of the half and capped off nine consecutive points for Utah.
On the next possession, Ausar finished emphatically with a dunk from the baseline off a great dish from Erickson in the paint. After a G. Madsen transition layup, Utah got another defensive stop and pushed the ball ahead to Erickson, who knocked down a three from the corner in the final minute of the half.
The two teams went to the locker room at 42-26 and Utah finished the half:
- 18-of-35 from the field
- 4-of-11 from 3-point range
- 2-of-4 from the free throw line
- 23 rebounds, 14 assists, 7 turnovers
Second Half
G. Madsen started the second half the same he started the first half, with an easy layup. A couple possessions later, he knocked a deep three from the top.
After a couple of empty possessions, Ausar got going offensively. He knocked down a turnaround jumper from the mid-post. The next possession, he drove baseline from the corner and finished strong for a layup. Lastly, he was fouled going up at the rim again.
14:41
After the break, Ausar knocked down both free throws, which made it six-straight points for him.
On the next possession, M. Madsen was fouled going up for a layup and knocked down 1-of-2 free throws.
After getting a defensive stop, Utah pushed it the other way and M. Madsen then knocked down a three to make it 58-36.
11:59
After the second timeout, the Utes got going witha Dawes layup. This was the first bucket of an oncoming 10-1 run for Utah.
M. Madsen knocked down a three on the next possession, then Erickson scored five conseuctive points with a strong layup.
On the next possession Little made a great crosscourt pass to Erickson, who knocked down a three from the left corner. Then M. Madsen was fouled again going in for a layup and knocked down both attempts at the line.
7:55
After the third media timeout, M. Madsen got Utah going with two makes from the free throw line. Later Dawes was fouled and knocked down 1-of-2 from the line.
The next possession Sharavjamts knocked down a turnaround jumper and then Dawes then had a putback on the ensuing possession to make it 75-43.
However, this would be the last bucket for nearly two minutes. Utah got really sloppy with the ball and did not generate many good scoring opportunities. Utah Tech enjoyed an 8-0 run to make it 75-51 by the next break.
3:13
M. Madsen knocked down a three coming out of the timeout. Wahlin was fouled on the ensuing possession and knocked both free throws. Madsen was fouled on a backcut to the rim and he made 1-of-2 from the line.
To finish this one out, Joul Karram cleaned it up on the offesnive end, with two dunks on back to back possessions.
Those two dunks got quite the reaction from the bench and gave Utah an 84-53 advantage in the win. The Utes finished the game:
- 32-of-66 from the field
- 8-of-27 from 3-point range
- 12-of-18 from the free throw line
- 50 rebounds, 24 assists, 13 turnovers
Next Up For Utah
Utah basketball welcomes a pair of teams the following week as part of the Mountain to Sea Showcase.
First up inside the Huntsman Center will be Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday, Nov. 26, beginning at 7 p.m. (MST).
Eastern Washington returns to SLC for the second-straight year on Saturday, Nov. 30, for a 3 p.m. (MST) tip-off.
Both games will air on ESPN+ with Drew Goodman and former Utah assistant coach Joe Cravens on the call.
