SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team settled in midway through the first half en rout to its 100-59 victory over Alcorn State Monday night to open the 2024-25 campaign at home in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
It took the Utes (1-0) a little bit to get the engine going, but the offense finally found its groove out the 11:45 media break up just 16-13 to take a 50-31 lead at half behind 19 first-half points from
Gabe Madsen – who finished with a game-high 27 points.
The Utah offense shot well from beyond the arc – knocking down 10 of its 14 made field-goals in the first half from deep. The Runnin' Utes also moved the ball around well early on, assisting on 13 of the 14 made field-goals.
Utah got off to a much better start in the second half with an 11-4 run, extending its lead to 61-35 to force an Alcorn State (0-1) timeout and never looked back.
With 5:31 left to play,
Jake Wahlin knocked down Utah's 18th 3-pointer of the night to break the school single-game record before
Keanu Dawes added No. 19 for good measure with 2:55 left to go.
The Utes had several players make their debut in the Red and White while also a couple making their collegiate debuts.
The Madsen twins finished with a combined 42 points, 15 from
Mason Madsen, while shooting 11-of-19 from 3-point range.
Ezra Ausar tallied 13 points and 6 rebounds with 7 of his points coming from the line.
Keanu Dawes added 13 points off the bench for Utah with 6 boards on 4-of-5 shooting.
Mike Sharavjamts had an efficient night, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with 5 assists.
Miro Little filled up the stat sheet with 6 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Utah is now 91-26 overall in home-openers and 82-13 all-time when those home-openers also serve as the season-opener
- Utes are now 21-2 at home in non-conference action under fourth-year head coach Craig Smith – including a 10-game winning-streak dating back to the 2022-23 season in non-conference play (excludes 3 NIT victories at home in 2023-24)
- With 27 points Monday night, Gabe Madsen now needs just 13 points to become the 42nd Runnin' Ute to reach 1,000 career points
- Jake Wahlin made his first career start with Lawson Lovering on the injured list, finishing with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 26 minutes of action
- Ayomide Bamisile scored his first collegiate basket with 56 seconds left in the game on a putback
- Utah finished with 29 assists – the most since posting 25 dimes against Jacksonville State (12/8/22)
- First time Utah has scored 100-plus points in its season-opener back-to-back years since 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons
- The 19 triples by Utah is the most by any Big 12 team since Baylor had 19 against Mississippi Valley State on 12/23/23
- As a team, Utah shot .561 from the field (32-for-57) and .500 from beyond the arc (19-for-38)
- The 19 threes by Utah is the most by a Big 12 Conference team since Baylor vs. Mississippi Valley State (12/23/23)
UP NEXT
The Utes continue their three-game homestand to start the 2024-25 season this Thursday, Nov. 7, with a 7 p.m. bout against Central Arkansas inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Krista Blunk and former Runnin' Utes assistant Joe Cravens will once again have the call on ESPN+.
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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