Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Nevada [Exh] on October 17, 2025 at 7:00 PM
7:00 PM
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Men's Basketball
vs Nevada [Exh]
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Friday, November 17
Charleston, SC
2:30 PM
University of Utah
3-1,0-0Pac-12
66
vs
76
Houston
5-0,0-0Big 12
1
2
F
Houston
39
37
76
Utah
30
36
66
Team Stats
UH
Utah
FG%
.452
.358
3FG%
.333
.323
FT%
.500
.720
RB
39
38
TO
7
15
STL
10
5
Game Leaders
Pts
29
FGM
10
3FGM
8
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo Credit: Omar Torres/Utah Athletics
Men's Basketball Battles No. 6 Houston Tough in 76-66 Loss
11/17/2023 6:10 PM | Men's Basketball
A career-high 29 points from Gabe Madsen wasn’t enough as Utah fell to #6 Houston 76-66 in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic.
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Despite the efforts of a career-high night from Gabe Madsen, the Utah men's basketball team fell just short in the Charleston Classic semifinal match against #6/6 Houston, 76-66, inside TD Arena.
Utah came out attacking first, taking a 12-4 lead after Branden Carlson knocked down a pair of free throws out of the timeout (16:29) by Houston. Rollie Worster made it 14-7 in favor of the Utes (3-1) before the sixth-ranked Cougars ramped up the defensive pressure and turned six Utah turnovers into eight points for the 17-16 edge with 11:20 left in the first half.
Things settled down from that point on with both teams combining to go just 2-for-15 from the field heading into the 7:21 media break with Houston (5-0) ahead 24-20. After Utah tied things up at 26-26 behind back-to-back triples from Gabe Madsen, Houston went on an 11-2 run for the 37-28 lead before Carlson's bucket in the paint put an end to the scoring lull.
The Runnin' Utes managed to head into the locker down just 39-30 despite giving up 12 points on eight turnovers in the first half against an aggressive Houston team thanks to Carlson (12) and Madsen (11) – who combined to account for 23 of Utah's 30 first-half points.
A scoring lull for Utah out of the first media break in the second-half saw the Cougars take their largest lead of the game 50-36 at the 14:02 mark.
After six-straights points from the charity stripe by Utah to cut the Houston lead down to 51-42, Madsen got the offense rumbling when he sandwiched a lay-up from Lawson Lovering with a pair of treys to bring the Runnin' Utes within 54-50 and 9:45 to play.
Madsen tied his career-high in points and 3-pointer made when he drained his seventh 3-pointer of the night for his 26th point to bring the Runnin' Utes within 56-55. Worster tied things up at 56-56 when he knocked down the second of his two free-throws on the ensuing possession but the Cougars answered right back with an 8-0 run to force the Utes to call a timeout with 5:11 remaining.
The Utes got as close as 72-66 with 1:47 left to go after Madsen drained his career-high eighth triple for 29 points, but Houston showed why it was the sixth-ranked team in the country down the stretch and outscored the Utes 20-10 after the game was tied 56-56 with 7:09 left on the clock.
Madsen finished with a career-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting – eight of which came from beyond the arc. His eight triples ties Johnnie Bryant (Jan. 26, 2008 vs. TCU) for the second-most in a single-game at Utah. Carlson chipped in with 17 points and 8 rebounds after Thursday night's performance. Lovering nearly had a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds while Worster also had 9 points to go with his 6 assists.
BY THE NUMBERS
Utah moves to 1-9 all-time against the No. 6 ranked team in the country and 1-3 when playing them on neutral floors … head coach Craig Smith is now 1-11 against ranked opponents early into his third year with the Runnin' Utes … Utah was outscored in the paint 30-18 and also saw Houston turn 15 turnovers into 19 points … Madsen is the first Pac-12 player since ASU's Torian Graham vs. #5 Oregon (3/9/17) to hit at least seven 3-pointers against an AP Top-10 team.
UP NEXT
Utah will now play in the third-place game on Sunday, Nov. 19, against St. John's at 3:30 p.m. (MT) on ESPN inside TD Arena with Jay Alter and Debbie Antonelli once again on the call.
For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Utah came out attacking first, taking a 12-4 lead after Branden Carlson knocked down a pair of free throws out of the timeout (16:29) by Houston. Rollie Worster made it 14-7 in favor of the Utes (3-1) before the sixth-ranked Cougars ramped up the defensive pressure and turned six Utah turnovers into eight points for the 17-16 edge with 11:20 left in the first half.
.@ballerbranden35 right where he left off here in Charleston! pic.twitter.com/vncUd6pWa3
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) November 17, 2023
Things settled down from that point on with both teams combining to go just 2-for-15 from the field heading into the 7:21 media break with Houston (5-0) ahead 24-20. After Utah tied things up at 26-26 behind back-to-back triples from Gabe Madsen, Houston went on an 11-2 run for the 37-28 lead before Carlson's bucket in the paint put an end to the scoring lull.
The Runnin' Utes managed to head into the locker down just 39-30 despite giving up 12 points on eight turnovers in the first half against an aggressive Houston team thanks to Carlson (12) and Madsen (11) – who combined to account for 23 of Utah's 30 first-half points.
A scoring lull for Utah out of the first media break in the second-half saw the Cougars take their largest lead of the game 50-36 at the 14:02 mark.
After six-straights points from the charity stripe by Utah to cut the Houston lead down to 51-42, Madsen got the offense rumbling when he sandwiched a lay-up from Lawson Lovering with a pair of treys to bring the Runnin' Utes within 54-50 and 9:45 to play.
Madsen tied his career-high in points and 3-pointer made when he drained his seventh 3-pointer of the night for his 26th point to bring the Runnin' Utes within 56-55. Worster tied things up at 56-56 when he knocked down the second of his two free-throws on the ensuing possession but the Cougars answered right back with an 8-0 run to force the Utes to call a timeout with 5:11 remaining.
MADSEN!!!! pic.twitter.com/nw497iNTl2
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) November 17, 2023
The Utes got as close as 72-66 with 1:47 left to go after Madsen drained his career-high eighth triple for 29 points, but Houston showed why it was the sixth-ranked team in the country down the stretch and outscored the Utes 20-10 after the game was tied 56-56 with 7:09 left on the clock.
Madsen finished with a career-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting – eight of which came from beyond the arc. His eight triples ties Johnnie Bryant (Jan. 26, 2008 vs. TCU) for the second-most in a single-game at Utah. Carlson chipped in with 17 points and 8 rebounds after Thursday night's performance. Lovering nearly had a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds while Worster also had 9 points to go with his 6 assists.
BY THE NUMBERS
Utah moves to 1-9 all-time against the No. 6 ranked team in the country and 1-3 when playing them on neutral floors … head coach Craig Smith is now 1-11 against ranked opponents early into his third year with the Runnin' Utes … Utah was outscored in the paint 30-18 and also saw Houston turn 15 turnovers into 19 points … Madsen is the first Pac-12 player since ASU's Torian Graham vs. #5 Oregon (3/9/17) to hit at least seven 3-pointers against an AP Top-10 team.
UP NEXT
Utah will now play in the third-place game on Sunday, Nov. 19, against St. John's at 3:30 p.m. (MT) on ESPN inside TD Arena with Jay Alter and Debbie Antonelli once again on the call.
For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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Meet the Runnin’ Utes Staff: Erick Schork
Thursday, August 28