West Virginia Erases a 12-Point Deficit to Knock Off Utah

The Mountaineers end a four-game road skid with a win over the Utes

Mar 4, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Amani Hansberry (13) goes for a layup against Utah Utes forward Ezra Ausar (2) during the first half during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

SALT LAKE CITY – West Virginia senior guard Javon Small led four Mountaineers (18-12, 9-10) with double figures with 18 points to capture their fourth road win of the season with a 71-69 win over the Utah Utes (16-14, 8-11) Tuesday night.

Javon Small buried his first two shots of the game and senior guard Toby Okani corralled the offensive rebound then drove the lane, but Utah started the game 4-4 from the three-point line, three coming from senior guard Gabe Madsen, as part of a 11-1 run for a 19-7 lead at the 11:04 mark of the first half.

West Virginia responded with a 10 run behind a pair of three from guards Joseph Yesufu and Jonathan Powell to pull within two, 19-17, with 5:54 remaining in the half.

Utah pushed its lead back to six, but the Mountaineers put together an 11-2 run capped by a three from Small to reclaim the WVU lead 30-27 with 42 second remaining in the half and the Mountaineers took a slim margin into halftime, 30-29.

West Virginia and Utah traded consecutive buckets until the game was tied at 36. Then, junior guard Mike Sharavjamts scored five straight to finish an 8-0 run for 44-36 lead at the 14:06 mark of the second half.

The Mountaineers began chipping away at the Utes leads and a 10-3 run pulled West Virginia within one at the midway point of the half before threes from Powell and Hansberry reclaimed the WVU lead, 54-52, with 6:55 remaining in the game.

After Utah went 9-10 from the free throw line in six minutes of action to take a two-point lead, West Virginia put together a 7-0 run for a five-point lead, 63-58, with 2:52 left to play.

Gabe Madsen buried his fourth three in the evening to get the Utes back within two, but Yesufu responded with a deep three from the right wing to maintain the five-point advantage.

Madsen, again, got the Utes back within two with a pair of free throws, however, Small banked in a floater to push the lead back to four with 37 seconds remaining in the game as the Mountaineers hold off the Utes for the 71-69 victory.

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