Gabe Madsen scores 20 second-half points to lead Utah to a 96-65 win over Queens

SALT LAKE CITY — After back-to-back games as the team's leading scorer, Gabe Madsen turned that honor over to someone else Tuesday night.

Well… until the final minute of the game.

San Francisco transfer Mike Sharavajmats, who goes by Mongolian Mike, took the honors for most of the game with a career-high 19 points, then Madsen scored 20 points in the second half to lead the team with 24 points en route to 96. 65 wins over aggressive and physical Queens teams.

The Sharawajmats had their usual highlight-inducing no-look passes, transition layups, blocked shots and overall control of a game that Queens dropped by 7 points to start the second half before the Runnin' Utes (3-0) pulled away. for good

But Madsen was down the stretch and made five 3-pointers, three rebounds and three assists. Utah's Miro Little and Ezra Ausar each added 10 points, with Ausar finishing with a double-double with 11 rebounds.

“It was a little bit of a tight game,” head coach Craig Smith said. “I thought we had some really good spurts, some really bad spurts, and that's what it looks like.”

“I think there was a little less energy, or a little slower pace, whatever,” Madsen said. “I think we've got to hang our hats every night just as the most cohesive team, and we just keep saying we've got to keep going, keep going.”

Queens (2-1) generally stifled Utah's usually free-flowing style for much of the game, challenging every possession and forcing the Utes to earn every bucket they could in a competitive fashion — especially behind the perimeter, where Utah averaged 19. 3-pointer a game.

The Royals held Utah back from deep in the first half, allowing little room for easy looks and allowing just five made 3-pointers. But the sharpshooting Utes continued to attack and finished the night by making 14 triples on 47% shooting.

“There were a lot of good things tonight, even though it didn't feel that good down the stretch,” Smith said. “But at the end of the day, when you look at the numbers, we held them to 35.9% from the field. It felt like we didn't shoot well tonight, but at the same time, we shot 47%. Three, they made 14 of them so it wasn't the clip we were shooting for – that's a good number.”

Utah jumped out to a 14-5 lead early in the game to set the tone of the game and eventually built a 19-point lead in the first half before Queens took advantage of some defensive mistakes to cut the Utes' lead down to 10. Points at the halftime break.

A few plays into the second half, Queens hit a 3-pointer in the corner and suddenly ASUN had a 7-pointer game.

Utah continued to battle, even as the team got into more rhythm and looked open behind the 3-point line, allowing their bigs — Ausser, Keanu Dawes and Jake Wahlin — to find success in the post to help space. the floor

Utah won the rebounding battle 52-33, fouled Queens early and gave the Utes a bonus with 10:52 left in the game, managing 23 second-chance points for the night.

The Royals were led by Chris Ashby, who finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Bryce Cash added 11 points and Asjon Anderson and Jackson Pollard each contributed 10 points in the loss.

“I didn't think we did a good job tonight, especially in the first half, pitching the ball forward, like looking up the floor, because there were guys open,” Smith said. “But at the end of the day, we shot about 50% from the field, so that was a good sign.”

Utah will take a step up in the tournament on Sunday when the team travels to Mississippi to take on undefeated Mississippi State (3-0), which received votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings released Monday.