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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah guard Mike Sharavjamts orchestrated the perfect play.
With time running out in the first half, Sharavjamts dribbled the ball at the top of the key and pointed for Gabe Madsen to make home in the corner. He then directed forward Ezra Ausar to move from the post to the top of the key. The play worked perfectly.
Sharavjamts used Ausar's move to distract a visiting Alcorn State team, who closed in on the forward, and the guard known as "Mongolian Mike" quickly fired a pass to the corner to Madsen for an easy catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to end the half.
"That pass Mike made at the end of the first half to Gabe, it's a high level play — like to be able to see that and snap that ball to the deep corner on time, on target, where all Gabe has to do is catch it and let it rip, that's a hard play," Utah head coach Craig Smith said.
But there was no question who the best player was on the floor when Madsen stepped on the court Monday.
The veteran sharpshooter was unstoppable for the Runnin' Utes in the season opener, with Madsen scoring a game-high 19 points at the halftime break en route to a 27-point performance in Utah's 100-59 win over Alcorn State.
Twin brother Mason Madsen added to the familial night with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from deep to give Utah all the offense it needed to push aside a Braves team that tried to speed up the Runnin' Utes in all facets of the game.
But Utah was undeterred and shot 56% from the field, while assisting on 29 of the team's made 32 baskets in the first half.
"There's some real synergy there, and those guys are weapons," Smith of the twins. "I mean, you've gotta really account for them."
Sharavjamts was a key contributor to the team's ball movement, setting up players all night — including a no-look pass to a streaking Ausar for a dunk — while adding 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from deep, and five assists.
LOOK OUT BELOW‼️@mongolshark ➡️ @ezraausar 🔨#GoUtespic.twitter.com/6RdlSFZLyw
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) November 5, 2024
His assists numbers may not have been the highest, but he helped establish a free-flowing night with the ball as Utah worked to beat the Braves with heavy ball movement.
"He's really fun to play with," Gabe Madsne said. "I mean, I've been saying for a while, he's just like a quarterback — like, he sees stuff before it even happens. ... He just sees the game in such a unique way, and it's really easy. It's honestly easy to play with him."
Utah built up a 32-point lead with 14:34 left in the game before Utah head coach Craig Smith started to use more of his bench, before eventually sending the starters to the sideline for good with 3:52 left to play and a near 40-point lead.
Utah finished the night making 19 3-pointers — the most by a team in the Big 12 since Dec. 23, 2023 — on 68% shooting from behind the arc. Though a full-team effort, 11 of the 3-pointers came from the Madsen brothers.
"It was obviously fun to start that way, start off on a good note, but, yeah, I love this team a lot, man. It's just fun the way we play and share the ball," Gabe Madsen said.
Though Alcorn State played 12 players in the loss, no member of the Braves had a double-figure scoring night. Alcorn State was led by Keionte Cornelius, who finished with 8 points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range.
The Runnin' Utes were without Lawson Lovering, Zach Keller and Ibi Traore for the season opener due to injury.
Traore, who Smith said had turned a corner recently and was showcasing his potential, suffered a season-ending injury in practice a couple days ago, cutting into Utah's depth for the season.
