Men's Basketball Drops Thriller in Southaven to #RV/RV Mississippi State

Sunday, November 17

Souhthaven, MS / Lander's Center

2:00 PM

University of Utah

3-1,0-0Big 12

Mississippi State

4-0,0-0SEC

Utah

Mississippi St.

Men's Basketball Drops Thriller in Southaven to #RV/RV Mississippi State

11/17/2024 5:30 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF) Highlights

The Runnin’ Utes fell in a barn burner on Sunday against #RV/RV Mississippi State, 78-73.

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – A tale of two halves saw the Utah men's basketball team drop its first game of the 2024-25 season to #RV/RV Mississippi State in thrilling back-and-forth game on Sunday inside the Landers Center 78-73.

First half action was a defensive battle between both teams, but the Runnin' Utes were able to take advantage of scoring opportunities in transition and took a 39-28 lead into the locker room behind late back-to-back triples from Miro Little.

Utah (3-1) scored on four-straight offensive possessions out of the 7:12 media break to go up 33-25 fueled by Keanu Dawes' play off the bench on both ends of the floor. The sophomore nearly had a double-double in the first-half, heading into the locker room with 9 points and 8 rebounds.

Mississippi State (4-0) came out firing in the second stanza, jumping out to a 22-7 run against the Utes heading into the 11:54 media break. A tough rebound from Ezra Ausar led to a long pass up to Dawes – who ended the Utah scoring drought with a finger roll to bring Utah within 50-46.

An 11-1 run from Utah gave it a short lead, 55-51, before a back-and-forth between both teams saw the game tied up, 60-60, at the 6:49 media break. Down 71-69 after the MSU timeout with 2:50 to go, Mike Sharavjamts drained at 15-footer to tie things back up for Utah.

However, the Bulldogs finished the final 2:50 minutes of action 7-of-8 from the line while Utah managed just 2-of-3 from the field during that same stretch in the loss.

Ausar finished with 15 points with 4 rebounds on 7-of-10 shooting from the line. Mason Madsen wrapped up with 14 points and 5 rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting – four of which came from beyond the arc. Dawes recorded his first-career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting. Little was the fourth Ute in double-figures with 10 points, 4 boards and 6 assists.

POSTGAME NOTES

Keanu Dawes finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first-career double-double
Utah was 8-of-14 from the line while Mississippi State was 24-of-33 for the game – including 13-of-17 in the second half to Utah's 4-for-6
A 17-10 edge on the offensive glass also saw Utah get outscored 18-11 in second-chance points
Utah held a lead for 21:56 minutes to MSU's 14:31 minutes despite the loss
Gabe Madsen was held to just 9 points on 1-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc
Utah allowed MSU 19 points off of their 13 turnovers – including a 10-2 edge in the second half

UP NEXT
The Runnin' Utes now return home to the friendly confines of the Jon M. Huntsman Center where they begin a six-game homestand starting this Friday, Nov. 22, against Utah Tech at 7 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+ with Drew Goodman and former Utah assistant coach Joe Cravens 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. Fans can also stay connected on their mobile devices or tablets with the Utah 360, the official app of Utah Athletics, through the Apple Store or Google Play.

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