Ezra Ausar scored 21 points and drew in eight returns to lift Utah to a victory 74-69 over Kansas State on Monday evening in Salt Lake City.
Ausar scored 15 points in the second half and went 7-for-7 from the free throw line for the game, a performance that included a couple of clutch flavors with five seconds left to help UTE (15-11, 7-8 BIG 12) Follow their upset victory over Then no. 17 Kansas with another big victory.
Lawson Lovering contributed 15 points and 10 returns and Gabe Madsen added 13 points when Utah got his fourth straight home victory.
Brendan Hausen scored 17 points while he scored five 3 points while digging McDaniel and Max Jones each published 13 points when Wildcats (13-13, 7-8) dropped their second straight game in the hive. Kansas State lost on Byu on Saturday to snap a winning line of six games.
Excluded the boards with their height advantage and exceeded Wildcats 51-28 in total. Utah finished with 21 offensive boards to compensate for 38.1 percent shooting from the field.
Ausar had one of the biggest offensive returns, points on a setback and turned it into a three-point game to give Utah a 67-61 lead with 1:17 left in the match.
Kansas State had deleted Utah’s nine -point, second half leading barely two minutes earlier on a runner by CJ Jones.
Wildcats pulled within 69-67 at the last minute thanks to three of Coleman Hawkins and Hausen.
Kansas State forced an Utah turnover with 44 seconds left to get a chance to bind the game or take the lead, but Wildcats then had its own giveaway. Utah then beat the subsequent press defense, which resulted in a Mike Sharavjamt-Dunk and a four-point lead.
With his team down 72-69, Hausen missed a long 3-point attempt with seven seconds left. Ausar took hold of the defensive rebound and was fouled, which led to his free throw with five seconds to go.
Utah did not make a field goal for the last 7:55 in the first half-after that a Jake Wahlin arrangement gave excluded a 25-18 lead-but still managed to enter the dressing room tied to 32.
Otherwise took a lead of 44-35 by opening the second half on a 12-3 run, but Wildcats eventually captured before Utah held stuck in the end.
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