Ezra Ausar Leads Utah To 83-62 Win Over Oklahoma State

SALT LAKE CITY—Utah basketball gets their first Big 12 conference win, as they knock off the Oklahoma State Cowboys 83-62. After losing the last three, the Runnin’ Utes needed a good bounceback performance against the Cowboys and got it.

Ezra Ausar led the way with his best performance of the season. He finished the game with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, and an impressive 7-of-78 from the line.

Utah got equally impressive performances from Keanu Dawes and Jake Wahlin. The two finished with 16 points apiece, while Dawes finished with 9 rebounds, and Wahlin added 4 boards and knocked down 3-of-3 from 3-point range.

The result, combined with the level of execution throughout the game, has to serve as a confidence booster for Utah.

Starters for Utah vs Oklahoma State

Craig Smith made another change to the starting five against Oklahoma State. The starters were as follows:

Mike Sharavjamts, Gabe Madsen, Jake Wahlin, Ezra Ausar, and Lawson Lovering.

First Half, Oklahoma State vs Utah

The Utes controlled the tip and worked the offense before Gabe Madsen got into the paint and was fouled on a jump shot. He knocked down both free throws for the first two points of the game. Through the first four minutes of action, Utah’s defense and free throw shooting provided encouraging indications for this one. Utah started the game with six consecutive stops on the defensive end, while knocking down six consecutive free throws on the other end.

15:47 –  Ausar scored another one at the rim, on the next possession, he had an easy dunk. Both came off assists from Lovering. Ausar scored a third straight at the rim from Lovering. That gave Utah a 21-6 advantage and forced Steve Lutz into a timeout. Ausar helped Utah get off to a strong start offensively. He scored 12 of Utah’s first 18 points, with four field goals at the rim, while also knocking down 4-for-4 from the line.

The vision to find the open @ezraausar for the throwdown‼️

cc: @lawson_lovering #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/hSTMDJtjWV

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 12, 2025

After an OSU timeout, the Cowboys chipped away at Utah’s lead with a couple of buckets. Utah didn’t execute as cleanly as had been offensively, however, Zach Keller did knock down an open corner 3-pointer.

10:05 – After the second media timeout, Utah’s defense fueled another mini-run that rebuilt their lead. After their second defensive stop,  Keanu Dawes finished through contact for a transition layup. On the next possession, Dawes went up for an offensive rebound off a Gabe Madsen miss and tip-passed it to Lovering underneath for an easy dunk.

What a quick play, @keanu_28‼️

With the flush, @lawson_lovering ‼️🔨#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/9Nl4pQlM3O

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 12, 2025

Utah’s defense continued to get stops and, at one point, finished with five straight stops during this stretch.

7:43 – Utah struggled from the field briefly after this timeout. They went 1-of-6 from the field before a Lawson Lovering threw down a big dunk through contact and the whistle.  He also knocked down the free throw, which was Utah’s seventh consecutive make.

That's weight room baby‼️@lawson_lovering 💪💪#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/qsWv8uhcs5

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 12, 2025

3:18 – Utah started this stretch with an impressive offensive possession. The ball moved from side to side before ending up in Dawes hands in the post, which he finished at the rim. Dawes scored another layup on the next possession as well.  That would be Utah’s final points of the half, while Oklahoma State finished on a 5-0 run to cut Utah’s lead to 37-26.

Pretty spin move for @keanu_28 🌪️ #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/hyi5qCY8gA

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 12, 2025

Second Half, Oklahoma State 26 vs Utah 37

Utah opened with the ball, and Jake Wahlin knocked down a jumper on the offensive end. Utah set the tone defensively as well as they got another defensive stop, thanks to Lovering’s rim protection. Ausar picked up where he left off, knocking down two consecutive free throws and finishing another one at the rim. Wahlin was later fouled and knocked down both from the line as well.

15:32 – Utah started with the ball and ended up with a Wahlin layup plus the foul. He knocked down the free throw, which made it 12-for-12 from the line.

Dawes would end up finishing the next three possessions with dunks. He finished the first one off an alley-oop dish from Wahlin, the second he drove the lane from the right wing, and the last a dump-off pass from Sharavjamts underneath. That forced another Steve Lutz timeout for Oklahoma State.

Following the OSU timeout, the Utes offense got hot. G. Madsen scored a layup, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Wahlin, before another Dawes alley-oop finish. However, the defense wasn’t as stingy and didn’t allow Utah to build upon their lead. They got to the next media timeout with a 64-45 advantage.

2 in a row from @WahlinJake ‼️🎯#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Ad10RAy7DL

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 12, 2025

11:05 – Dawes picked up where he left off and threw down his fourth dunk of the half. Lohner had the ball in the right low post, and Dawes cut to the rim from the backside, Lohner hit him in stride and Dawes threw it down. Lohner had another nice assist on the next play. He dove to the rim, caught a pass on the move, and then threw to the opposite corner to Wahlin, who knocked down an open 3-pointer.

On the next possession, Ausar was fouled again at the rim. He knocked down 1-of-2, which was the first miss from the line for Utah in this one. That’s not bad, considering the team’s struggles at the line this season. Ausar then scored on the next two possessions, a dunk and layup, which gave him 21 points and a new season-high.

Make this a new season-high for @ezraausar with 21‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/uaUCuTI6xB

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 12, 2025

7:04 – Following the break, the Cowboys chipped away at Utah’s 74-48 lead. After turning it over, Lohner had an emphatic reflection at the rim to make up for his mistake.  Little got to the rim for a layup, drew the foul, and then proceeded to knock down 1-of-2 free throws. Sharavjamts later knocked down 1-of-2 from the line.

3:22 – In the final minutes, Utah cruised into the 83-62 victory, but this has to serve as a bit of a confidence booster for the squad moving forward.

Up next, Utah vs TCU

Utah will hit the road again, this time to Fort Worth for a Wednesday night matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs inside Schollmaier Arena.

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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