Ezra Ausar scored 21 points to lift Utah to its first-ever Big 12 Conference win, an 83-62 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
Jake Wahlin and Keanu Dawes each scored 16 points for the Utes (9-6, 1-3 Big 12), who snapped a four-game losing streak with the blowout win.
Utah, which lost its first three conference games by an average of 25.3 points, never trailed against the Cowboys. The Utes shot 55.6 percent from the field while holding the visitors to 33.3 percent shooting overall.
Bryce Thompson scored 16 points, and Marchelus Avery added 13 points and six rebounds for Oklahoma State (9-6, 1-3).
Utah wasted no time in establishing itself as the aggressor.
Gabe Madsen hit two free throws on the game’s first possession to ignite a 12-0 run off the tip.
Ausar scored six consecutive points during that surge, with Mike Sharavjamts and Lawson Lovering also making hoops while the Utes held the Cowboys scoreless until the 16:08 mark of the first half.
Lovering stretched the Utah advantage to 28-13 with a dunk, and the Utes settled for a 37-26 halftime lead.
Utah followed a similar script to open the second half, scoring the first six points thanks to a Wahlin jumper to go along with two free throws and a slam by Ausar.
The Utes led by as many as 26 points and cruised to their first win since Dec. 17.
Wahlin went 5-for-5 from the floor with three 3-pointers en route to a career-high point total. He also had four rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Lovering dished out a career-high six assists for Utah, which had 23 assists on 30 baskets. Dawes led Utah’s rebounding efforts with nine boards.
Ausar hit 7 of 12 field-goal attempts and went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Brandon Newman added 10 points for OSU, which only made 6 of 23 shots from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
