Men's Basketball Completes Weekend Sweep at Home with Gutsy 74-69 Win Over Kansas State

Monday, February 17

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

15-11,7-8Big 12

Kansas State

13-13,7-8Big 12

Kansas St.

Utah

Photo by: Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics

Men's Basketball Completes Weekend Sweep at Home with Gutsy 74-69 Win Over Kansas State

2/17/2025 11:52 PM | Men's Basketball

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Three players in double-figures led by 21 points from Ezra Assar saw the Runnin’ Utes victorious over Kansas State, 74-69.

SALT LAKE CITY – Backed by a trio of players in double-figures and solid night at the free-throw line saw the Utah men's basketball team complete a weekend sweep Monday night after a it pulled off a gutsy win over Kansas State 74-69 inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

The first half had a lot of back-and-forth action with neither team able to string together scores and stops as evident by the five total lead changes and eight ties – including the halftime score of 32-32.

It wasn't until after the 11:30 media break did Utah (15-11, 7-8 Big 12) put together a 7-0 run to lead 23-16 before consecutive triples from Kansas State cut it down to 25-21 with 6:56 on the clock.

Despite finishing the final 7:06 of the game without a field-goal (0-for-11) the Runnin' Utes kept pace with the Wildcats from the foul line, ironically, by knocking down 13-of-15 from the charity stripe – five of which came from Lawson Lovering (5-for-6).

Utah came out of the locker room locked in and reeled off a quick 6-0 spur to force a K-State (13-13, 7-8 Big 12) timeout just 2:21 into the second half. The Utes continued to lay it on the Wildcats to the tune of a 14-5 run to give them their largest lead of the game, 46-37, with 14:36 on the clock.

However, Kansas State didn't back down and quit as it answered with 10-2 run of its own to get within 48-47 out of the 11:37 media break. A scoring drought would hit Utah, but the Runnin' Utes found a way and extended their lead back up to 57-50 after a three-ball from Gabe Madsen before a 9-2 spurt from the Wildcats tied things up (59-59) with 2:58 to play.

A huge jumper from Miro Little put Utah back up by a bucket before Madsen drained another timely 3-pointer to make it 64-59 at a round the same time he did it against Kansas to go up by the same amount.

Kansas State hung around and made it a one-possession four more times before Utah closed out the game 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to secure the sweep of the Kansas schools.

Ezra Ausar finished with a game-high 21 points on 8 boards – including a perfect 7-for-7 night at the free-throw line. Lovering recorded his first double-double as Runnin' Ute, second of his career, with 15 points and 10 rebounds – 6 of which came on the offensive glass. Madsen rounded things out with 13 points – five of which came from the charity stripe where he was 5-for-6. Jake Wahlin once again stacked the stats sheet with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 3 blocks.

POSTGAME NOTES

Utah moves to 2-2 all-time now against Kansas State after the win
Utah dominated the glass against K-State with a 51-28 edge – including a 21-6 advantage on the offensive glass
The 21 offensive rebounds were the most since pulling 21 against Arizona in triple OT last season at home
The last time Utah had 21 offensive boards in regulation dated back to Dec. 28, 2013, against St. Katherine
Last time Utah finished the game with less than four 3-pointers and won was against in Berkeley on Dec. 29, 2022 – Utah had 3 that game
Monday night's 51 rebounds marked the fourth time Utah has pulled down 50-plus in a game this season, matching last year's total
Utah finished the night 23-for-30 (.767) from the charity stripe and has now made 20-plus in a game three times this year

UP NEXT
The Runnin' Utes hit the road once again this weekend, opening up the two-game road swing with UCF on Sunday, Feb. 23, inside Additional Financial Arena starting at 2 p.m. (MST). Drew Fellios will have the action alongside former UCF Knight BJ Taylor on ESPN+ as the two programs square off for the first time on U.S. soil.

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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