Big second half carries Utah past Arizona State

Field Level Media|published: Sat 1st March, 21:47 2025

Feb 26, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Utah Utes head coach Josh Eilert talks to media during post conference after they lose to Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Ezra Ausar scored 25 points and Utah dominated the second half while rolling to a 99-73 victory over Arizona State on Saturday evening in Big 12 play at Salt Lake City.

Keanu Dawes had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Sharavjamts added 14 points, six assists and three blocked shots as the Utes (16-13, 8-10 Big 12) excelled in their second contest since Craig Smith was fired as coach on Monday. Josh Eilert is serving as interim coach.

Mason Madsen added 13 points for Utah, which lost 83-66 to No. 22 Arizona on Wednesday in Eilert's first game leading the squad.

Joson Sanon scored a career-best 28 points for Arizona State (13-16, 4-14), which lost its second straight game and 13th of its past 16. Basheer Jihad had 16 points and Alston Mason added 13 for the Sun Devils.

Arizona State's Jayden Quaintance (knee) and Adam Miller (hip) sat out.

Utah shot a stellar 56.5 percent from the field and was 10 of 25 from 3-point range. The Utes held a 40-29 rebounding edge and had a 48-20 edge in points in the paint.

Arizona State shot 42.6 percent but connected on just 9 of 31 (29 percent) in the second half. The Sun Devils were 8 of 17 from behind the arc, with Sanon hitting 4 of 5 attempts.

Gabe Madsen capped a 7-0 burst with a 3-pointer as Utah took a 58-52 lead with 14:16 remaining in the game.

Sanon scored five straight points a short time later to pull the Sun Devils within 63-61 with 11:38 left. Arizona State then went nearly 9 1/2 minutes without a basket and missed 13 of its final 14 shots.

The Utes countered with 13 straight points to open up a 15-point lead. It started with a 3-pointer by Zach Keller, an acrobatic driving hoop by Jake Wahlin and a trey by Hunter Erickson. Ausar then scored the final five points to make it 76-61 with 7:10 to play.

Jihad made two free throws with 6:44 remaining to end the Utah spurt.

Gabe Madsen, Utah's all-time leader in 3-pointers, knocked down No. 300 of his career with 5:19 left to give the Utes an 82-67 lead.

The lead reached 20 with 3:14 left after four straight points by Dawes, and Utah finished the game on a 36-12 run.

Sanon scored 20 points in the first half as Arizona State led 43-41 at the break.

Sanon hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Sun Devils a 27-21 lead with 7:36 left, and Arizona State led the rest of the half.

Ausar scored 12 points in the first half for the Utes.

--Field Level Media