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Men's Basketball
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Saturday, January 18
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
11-6,3-3Big 12
73
vs
72
BYU
11-6,2-4Big 12
1
2
OT 1
F
BYU
30
34
8
72
Utah
27
37
9
73
Team Stats
BYU
Utah
FG%
.385
.446
3FG%
.267
.261
FT%
.400
.531
RB
44
47
TO
8
11
STL
8
4
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballVeterans Answer the Bell in Thrilling Overtime Victory Against In-State Rival BYU
1/19/2025 12:19 AM | Men's Basketball
Runnin’ Utes defeat rival BYU in front of a packed house with 73-72 overtime victory.
SALT LAKE CITY – A raucous sold-out crowd of 15,558 fans on Saturday night got more than their monies worth inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center as the Utah men's basketball team walked away with a thrilling 73-72 victory over in-state rival BYU.
Utah is now 131-134 against BYU all-time and leads the all-time series in conference play 119-117 after Saturday night's win. The Runnin' Utes extended their record in OT against the Cougars to 13-4 all-time with a 7-1 edge when playing in SLC and 3-0 inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Saturday's win was remnant of the exciting back-and-forth game on Dec. 4, 2019, in SLC – which also went in favor of the Utes 102-95 (OT). The win also gave Utah its third-straight victory over the Cougars in overtime and have won 8 of the last 10 contests in extras.
The 265th edition of the rival began with a lot of back-and-forth before an 11-4 spurt from the Cougars saw them take a 16-11 lead with 9:46 on the clock. The Utes (11-6, 3-3 Big 12) tied things up shortly thereafter at 18-18 after Mike Sharavjamts stuck a 3-ball out of the under-8 media break (6:58).
Down 26-18 heading into the final media break of the half, Utah got as close as 28-27 before heading into the break trailing 30-27 despite shooting just .333 in the first 20 minutes of action.
Ezra Ausar feasted in the second-half and into the overtime period, scoring 24 of his season-high 26 points in the final 25 minutes of action – including 21 scores in the second frame alone.
Ausar opened the half scoring eight of Utah's first 12 points to give the Runnin' Utes the 39-37 lead before BYU (11-6, 2-4 Big 12) was forced to call a timeout (14:06) after he jammed in another two baskets for the 43-39 edge. The Cougars tried to find an answer each time but would be met by force on the defensive end from Utah's front court while Ausar continued to pound the ball in the paint for easy score-after-score.
However, BYU slowly chipped away and got within 60-59 with 1:19 left to go. Utah had a chance to close it out in regulation but had a tough time at the line, hitting just 2-of-4 in the final 1:19 of the game – which allowed the Cougars to tie it up at 64-64 on a second-chance tip-in with :09 remaining on the clock. The Utes had an opportunity with the final play in regulation but wasn't able to convert and sent the deep-rooted rivalry into its 17th overtime game ever.
BYU got on the board first in OT before both teams went back-and-forth to make it a one-possession game. Down 68-67 after a bucket from Ausar, Utah had a couple opportunities at the line to take its first lead of the extra period but weren't able to connect – drawing black on four chances. The Cougars would score two possessions later to go up 70-67 before Erickson would turn the corner on a screen to drill a 3-pointer and tie things up (70-70) with 2:08 to go.
The Cougars would answer right back on the next possession before Erickson drove to the lane to draw a foul. The former Cougar would drain the first before uncharacteristically air-balling the second. However, that didn't phase the fifth-year senior, as he attacked the rack without fear once again on the next possession after Ausar was able to secure the steal on the defensive end.
The Provo native would stick both of his free-throws to put the Utes on top 73-72 before Utah was able to fend off BYU three more times to secure the 131st victory over BYU.
Ausar finished with a season-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting to go with 6 rebounds – 21 of which came in the second-half alone. Despite playing four fouls late in the second stanza, Lawson Lovering managed to finish with 13 points on 7 rebounds with 3 blocks while also drawing a staggering 10 fouls. Jake Wahlin continued to play, pulling down 9 rebounds to go with his 2 points and 2 blocks for Utah in the win.
POSTGAME NOTES
UP NEXT
No rest for the weary as Utah has yet another quick turnaround, this time heading to #10/8 Houston for a 6 p.m. (MST) battle on ESPN+. Pete Sousa and Mark Adams will guide fans through the action as the Runnin' Utes step foot inside the Fertitta Center for the first time in program history against the Cougars – who have won 32-consecutive home games as of Jan. 16, 2025.
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.
Utah is now 131-134 against BYU all-time and leads the all-time series in conference play 119-117 after Saturday night's win. The Runnin' Utes extended their record in OT against the Cougars to 13-4 all-time with a 7-1 edge when playing in SLC and 3-0 inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Saturday's win was remnant of the exciting back-and-forth game on Dec. 4, 2019, in SLC – which also went in favor of the Utes 102-95 (OT). The win also gave Utah its third-straight victory over the Cougars in overtime and have won 8 of the last 10 contests in extras.
The 265th edition of the rival began with a lot of back-and-forth before an 11-4 spurt from the Cougars saw them take a 16-11 lead with 9:46 on the clock. The Utes (11-6, 3-3 Big 12) tied things up shortly thereafter at 18-18 after Mike Sharavjamts stuck a 3-ball out of the under-8 media break (6:58).
Down 26-18 heading into the final media break of the half, Utah got as close as 28-27 before heading into the break trailing 30-27 despite shooting just .333 in the first 20 minutes of action.
Ezra Ausar feasted in the second-half and into the overtime period, scoring 24 of his season-high 26 points in the final 25 minutes of action – including 21 scores in the second frame alone.
Ausar opened the half scoring eight of Utah's first 12 points to give the Runnin' Utes the 39-37 lead before BYU (11-6, 2-4 Big 12) was forced to call a timeout (14:06) after he jammed in another two baskets for the 43-39 edge. The Cougars tried to find an answer each time but would be met by force on the defensive end from Utah's front court while Ausar continued to pound the ball in the paint for easy score-after-score.
However, BYU slowly chipped away and got within 60-59 with 1:19 left to go. Utah had a chance to close it out in regulation but had a tough time at the line, hitting just 2-of-4 in the final 1:19 of the game – which allowed the Cougars to tie it up at 64-64 on a second-chance tip-in with :09 remaining on the clock. The Utes had an opportunity with the final play in regulation but wasn't able to convert and sent the deep-rooted rivalry into its 17th overtime game ever.
BYU got on the board first in OT before both teams went back-and-forth to make it a one-possession game. Down 68-67 after a bucket from Ausar, Utah had a couple opportunities at the line to take its first lead of the extra period but weren't able to connect – drawing black on four chances. The Cougars would score two possessions later to go up 70-67 before Erickson would turn the corner on a screen to drill a 3-pointer and tie things up (70-70) with 2:08 to go.
The Cougars would answer right back on the next possession before Erickson drove to the lane to draw a foul. The former Cougar would drain the first before uncharacteristically air-balling the second. However, that didn't phase the fifth-year senior, as he attacked the rack without fear once again on the next possession after Ausar was able to secure the steal on the defensive end.
The Provo native would stick both of his free-throws to put the Utes on top 73-72 before Utah was able to fend off BYU three more times to secure the 131st victory over BYU.
Ausar finished with a season-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting to go with 6 rebounds – 21 of which came in the second-half alone. Despite playing four fouls late in the second stanza, Lawson Lovering managed to finish with 13 points on 7 rebounds with 3 blocks while also drawing a staggering 10 fouls. Jake Wahlin continued to play, pulling down 9 rebounds to go with his 2 points and 2 blocks for Utah in the win.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Utah has now won two-straight against BYU for the first time since 2013-15 when it won three-straight
- Utah also extended its Big 12 win-streak to three after defeating BYU
- Utah is now 78-52 all-time against the Cougars at home
- Utah was able to convert 8 BYU turnovers into a 13-6 edge in points off turnovers
- The 32 free-throw attempts were just two shy of cracking the top-10
- The Utes have now shot at least 25 free-throws in back-to-back games and five times overall this season
- Utah is now 1-4 this season when trailing at the half
- The 14 assists on Saturday ties a season-low for Utah
UP NEXT
No rest for the weary as Utah has yet another quick turnaround, this time heading to #10/8 Houston for a 6 p.m. (MST) battle on ESPN+. Pete Sousa and Mark Adams will guide fans through the action as the Runnin' Utes step foot inside the Fertitta Center for the first time in program history against the Cougars – who have won 32-consecutive home games as of Jan. 16, 2025.
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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