Utah Basketball Gets The 89-59 Win Over Florida A&M

Dec 17, 2024, 9:03 PM | Updated: Dec 18, 2024, 2:58 pm

Utah Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – It was never close but never pretty, regardless, Utah basketball gets the 89-59 win over the Florida A&M Rattlers.

Mike Sharavjamts led the way with 15 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds and had the single biggest positive impact on this game.

Mason Madsen added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, while Ezra Ausar added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.

Takeaways From Utah’s 89-57 Win

Mike Sharavjamts Off The Bench

He was moved from the starting lineup to the bench for this one and it was a positive move. He seemed to embrace the role off the bench and played with more aggression.

He looked to create for others but more importantly, looked for his own offense as well. He just looked way more assertive than he has in the previous few games.

Free Throw Shooting Is Atrocious

Utah finished this game 10-of-24 from the free throw line. That’s good for 41.7% from the one and that was up from the 30% they were shooting for most of the game.

This game was never close but free throw shooting has cost them already this season. It has be worked on moving forward because this team cannot afford to give away free points.

First Half – Utah, Florida A&M

It was a pretty slow start for the Utes in this one. They didn’t score until the 18:07 mark when Gabe Madsen knocked down a corner 3-pointer off a baseline inbound. Ezra Ausar added a runner through contact. Then G. Madsen converted another 3-pointer from the top off of a dish from Zach Keller. However, Utah turned it over twice and missed three free throws during the opening minutes.

MTO 15:36 – Utah 8, Florida A&M 0

This was a better stretch of basketball for Utah. The offense went on an 8-0 run and built an 18-3 lead by the next media timeout.

Caleb Lohner scored an easy one off a baseline inbound play. Keller scored a layup off a dive to the rim and dish from Lohner driving baseline. Later, good ball movement led to a Jake Wahlin three from the left wing. After a defensive stop, Sharavjamts then created a good look for Mason Madsen from the top, which he knocked down.

MTO 12:18 – Utah 18, Florida A&M 3

Utah continued to build upon their lead. They extended their to 20 points within less than two minutes of action. Mike Sharavjamts, who came off the bench for this one, really got going during this stretch. He knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, a pull-up jumper in the paint, and another 3-pointer.

Utah could have built an even larger lead but the defense gave up four 3-pointers to the Rattlers during this stretch.

MTO 7:45 – Utah 34, Florida A&M 15

This was an up-and-down four minutes of action for Utah. The Utes extended their lead to 22 points within the first couple of possessions. However, they then allowed the Rattlers to cut their lead down to 16 by the next media timeout.

MTO 3:51 – Utah 40, Florida A&M 24

Utah was able to finish the final four minutes on the plus side. It started with a Lawson Lovering dunk, which came off of another Lohner drive and dish. A couple of possessions later, Lohner scored another gimme at the rim off an inbound play.

Keanu Dawes had a big dunk, where he rose up over a couple of defenders to throw it down. Sharavjamts scored a beautiful layup in transition, which served as the final bucket for Utah.

Second Half – Utah 50, Florida A&M 31

It was another slow start for Utah offensively, but eventually got it going. The defense was solid and Utah was able to extend their lead.

Unfortunately, G. Madsen missed another dunk attempt this season. Fortunately, Ausar was there to clean up the mess and throw down a big two-handed jam of his own. Lovering added a dunk of his own, off a dish from G. Madsen. Then Ausar converted a reverse layup, with Little on the assist.

MTO 15:59 – Utah 57, Florida 33

Ausar scored a layup, this one off a post-up move. On the next possession, Florida A&M’s head coach was called for a technical foul, and G. Madsen converted both free throws.

After the Rattlers scored the first bucket of the half, Utah went on an 11-0 run over a three-minute stretch, before they scored again.

MTO 12:50 – Utah 61, Florida A&M 35

This was a very brief stretch of basketball between media timeouts. Sharavjamts got a steal and pushed it the other way, which led to a M. Madsen 3-pointer. Next possession, Keller was fouled on a layup attempt.

MTO 11:06 – Utah 64, Florida A&M 35

Utah was able to string together consecutive stops to extend their lead further. M. Madsen knocked down a couple of 3-pointers, both of which were pretty open looks from opposite sides of the floor. Wahlin added a jump hook and Lohner a free throw make.