AMES, Iowa – The  Utah men's basketball team fought valiantly, but Iowa State showed why they are the No. 3-ranked team in the country as it clamped down on defense and handed the Runnin' Utes an 82-59 loss Tuesday night inside Hilton Coliseum.
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Gabe Madsen finally got things going on offense and started a 15-2 run with a drive to the rack before scoring 10 of the next 15 points during that stretch to give Utah (8-6, 0-3 Big 12) the 22-20 edge heading into the 7:41 media break.
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However, miscues on the offensive end by Utah saw the Cyclones take advantage and answered with an 8-0 run of their own to retake the 25-22 lead – which forced the Utes to call a timeout with 5:47 left in the half.
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Mike Sharavjamts finally put an end to the 5:26 scoring drought when he hit the front end of his two free-throws to make it 29-23 in favor of ISU. However, turnovers plagued the Utes in the waning moments of the half as Iowa State (13-1, 3-0 Big 12) finished the remaining time on a 21-3 blitzkrieg to lead Utah 38-25.
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The Runnin' Utes came out of the half with renewed energy, jumping out to an 11-4 spurt to get within 42-36 of the Cyclones. However, turnovers and a scoring drought once again saw ISU take advantage with a 14-5 run of its own to push the lead back up to 56-41 before Madsen drilled a corner 3-pointer to make it 56-44 with 10:30 left to play.
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From there, the Cyclone defense battened down the hatches to keep Utah at bay the rest of the game and secured their 10th-straight victory.
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Madsen finally found his groove on offense to lead the Utes with 20 points to go along with 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Miro Little was the only other Ute to reach double-figures, finishing with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench.
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POSTGAME NOTES
- Utah moves to 2-2 all-time against Iowa State and now 0-2 when playing in Ames
- Runnin' Utes are now 22-78 (.220) all-time against top-10 AP ranked opponents and 2-25 (.074) all-time against top-10 AP ranked opponents on the road
- Utah is now 1-5 (.167) against No. 3 AP ranked opponents all-time
- 12 first-half turnovers by Utah saw Iowa State convert them into 20 points – which accounted for 53-percent of their offense
- Hunter Erickson tied his career-high with 3 blocks against the Cyclones
- Utah also faced foul trouble midway through the second half with three players playing with 4 fouls in Mike Sharavjamts, Lawson Lovering and Miro Little
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UP NEXT
Utah returns home to host Oklahoma State for the third time ever on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 5 p.m. (MST) on
ESPN+ as part of a double-header with women's basketball – who will square off against Houston at 1:30 p.m. first. Lowell Galindo will have the action alongside former Oklahoma State guard Bryndon Manzer as the Utes and Cowboys duke it out for sixth-time in program history.
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Men's Basketball ticket = FREE entry to Women's Basketball game
Women's Basketball ticket = FREE entry to Men's Basketball game
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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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