Utah passes tough test from Eastern Washington

Gabe Madsen scored 28 points and Ezra Ausar added 20 to lift Utah to an 88-80 win over Eastern Washington in Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon.

The Utes (6-1) won their third consecutive game and improved to 6-0 at home this month.

Lawson Lovering added 16 points and eight rebounds, while Miro Little contributed seven assists and seven points as Utah earned its 11th straight home win.

Andrew Cook led Eastern Washington (1-6) with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Sebastian Hartmann had 16 points, Nic McClain netted 14 and Emmett Marquardt totaled 12 points, seven boards and three blocks.

The Eagles gave the Utes their toughest test at home this season, briefly holding a second-half lead and being within four in the final minutes. Utah had won each of its previous five home games by at least 31 points.

Marquardt's tip-in early in the second half put Eastern Washington up 48-47.

Madsen then drained a 3 to ignite a Utes push. He and Lovering each scored nine points during a 23-5 run for a 70-53 cushion.

EWU responded with a 20-7 surge to get back within four with under four minutes remaining.

Ausar made a three-point play and Little had a layup as Utah got the lead back to nine a minute later.

The Utes shot 48.4 percent from the floor but struggled beyond the arc, making only 4 of 19 3-pointers. Madsen made three of those on 3-of-8 shooting.

The Eagles hit 11 of 30 deep shots.

Utah dominated inside, outscoring Eastern Washington 46-28 in the paint.

Utah held an 11-6 lead when Hartmann went on an 8-1 run with a layup and two 3s to put EWU up 14-12.

Madsen earned a second-chance bucket to spark a 9-0 run for Utah, which regained a 21-14 lead.

EWU hit three 3s to get right back into it and then outscored Utah 5-1 in the final minute, including a layup with five seconds left by Nic McClain, to pull within 43-41 at halftime.

--Field Level Media