SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) - Utah's last home game of 2024 was a memorable one, as the Utes cruised past Florida A&M, 89-59.
Mike Sharavjamts and Mason Madsen each scored 15 points off the bench to lead a balanced Utah attack. The Utes bench scored 57 points, while the starters scored 32.
Sharavjamts buried 6 of 7 shots with three 3-pointers for the Utes (8-2), who won for the fifth time in six games and improved to 8-1 at home. He added four assists. Madsen made 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
"An emphasis for us is we can't change no matter who we play," said Madsen. "I think another big focus for us has been keeping our foot on the pedal when we do get up to big leads. There was obviously a lapse a little bit the middle of the first half, so there's obviously always things we can do better."
Ezra Ausar chipped in with 12 points of his own, knocking down 5-of-6 from the field. Lawson Lovering rounded things out with 10 points on 5 boards for Utah.
Kaleb Washington hit two 3-pointers and scored 11 off the bench to lead the Rattlers (3-6), who fell to 0-6 on the road. Jordan Chatman scored 10.
Sharavjamts scored 13 in the first half to guide Utah to a 50-31 advantage. The Utes shot 55% from the floor and made 8 of 18 from beyond the arc but just 6 of 16 at the free-throw line before the break.
Utah increased its lead to 30 on a Caleb Lohner free throw with 9:45 left to play. Madsen's 3-pointer two minutes later gave the Utes their largest lead at 73-38.
Utah has one more non-conference game Saturday against Iowa before tipping off its first Big 12 Conference slate.
"Being mentally prepared, physically prepared, make sure we're doing the right things to recover our bodies," Ausar said. "This is the moment we really all have been waiting on."
The Utes shot 54.8% overall, made 11 of 29 from distance (37.9%) and 10 of 24 free throws. The Rattlers shot 37.7% overall, made 9 of 27 from distance and 10 of 14 foul shots.
Utah will play Iowa on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Florida A&M travels to play BYU on Friday.