Runnin' Utes Fend Off Feisty Bearkats In Saturday Night Victory

Saturday, November 15

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

4-0,0-0Big 12

Sam Houston State

1-2,0-0CUSA

Sam Houston

Utah

Photo by: Davis Kuhn/Utah Athletics

Runnin' Utes Fend Off Feisty Bearkats In Saturday Night Victory

11/15/2025 10:50 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Keanu Dawes Highlights Photo Gallery

Terrence Brown recorded his third-consecutive 20+ point game while Keanu Dawes registered season-highs in points (17) and rebounds (15).

By: Austin Eames

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team secured an 85-79 victory over the Sam Houston Bearkats inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Saturday night.

Terrence Brown led the Runnin' Utes (4-0) with 26 points, 3 assists, a season-high 3 steals, and 2 rebounds. Keanu Dawes registered his second double-double performance of the year with a season-high 17 points (7-for-11 FG) and 15 rebounds (tied career-high).

After a quick back-and-forth sequence to start the game, Utah went up 5-4 on a layup from Brown at the 16:51 mark and never looked back against Sam Houston.

The Utes extended their advantage minutes later with a three-point jumper from Jacob Patrick capping off a streak of four-consecutive field goals to give the team a 19-10 lead with 12:30 left until the half.

A driving layup from Don McHenry at the 6:46 mark pushed Utah's advantage to 27-15, the team's largest lead of the first half.

Utah maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the frame before taking a 37-30 edge into the break. Dawes led the Utes with a dominant first-half performance on both sides of the court, netting 10 points while grabbing nine rebounds — nearly earning his eighth-career double-double in the first half alone.

It didn't take long for Dawes to secure his double-double early in the second period as he pulled down a defensive board to help set up a transition trey from Seydou Traore. Traore's triple would put Utah ahead 42-33 with 18:30 remaining in regulation.

Up 47-37 with 17:01 on the clock, the Utes fired off a 10-0 scoring run to take their largest lead of the contest on a fast break dunk from Brown. That high-flying score would push Utah's lead up to 57-37.

A driving layup from Obomate Abbey with 8:10 to go marked Utah's last field goal of the game. Ahead 72-57, Utah wouldn't net another basket from the field as the Bearkats clawed their way back into the contest getting within two points of tying the game, 79-77, with 1:09 left in regulation.

Utah would then go on a scoring drought and went without a field-goal in the final 8:10 minutes of action and saw Sam Houston take advantage by cutting the lead down to 79-77 with 1:09 on the clock. However, the Utes were nails at the free-throw line knocking down 7-of-9 – including a 6-of-6 effort from Brown the rest of the game to secure the victory.

Traore chipped in 10 points and 5 boards, while McHenry added 12 points and five rebounds of his own to round out the list of double-digit scorers for Utah.

BY THE NUMBERS

Keanu Dawes registered his eighth-career double-double with a season high 17 points and 15 rebounds
15 rebounds tied a career-high for Dawes (previous, UCF 3/11/25)
With 26 points, Terrence Brown reached 1,001 career points
Terrence Brown was 9-of-9 from the free-throw line in the second half
Utah's guards were 18-of-21 from the charity stripe (Brown & McHenry)
Utah outrebounded Sam Houston 46-33 (+13)
Head coach Alex Jensen remains undefeated all-time inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center both as a player (59-0) and coach (4-0) after Saturday night's win

UP NEXT
Utah's six-game homestand continues with another short turnaround week starting with Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Nov. 18, for a 7 p.m. (MDT) match-up as part of the Acrisure Series inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Krista Blunk and former Runnin' Utes assistant coach Joe Cravens will be on the ESPN+ broadcast for fans.

SEASON TICKETS & MINI PLANS
Fans still have time to purchase season tickets for the 2025-26 Utah men's basketball season under first-year head coach Alex Jensen. In addition, fans can also choose between two mini plans; the Saturday ONLY Plan starts at $125 while the Conference ONLY plan starts at $150. Single-game tickets for non-conference games are also on-sale starting at just $10 per ticket.

Fans interested in buy season tickets, mini plans or single-game tickets (non-conference) can do so by going online at UtahTickets.com or by phone at 801-581-UTIX (8849).

For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on Facebook, X and Instagram. Fans can also stay connected on their mobile devices or tablets with the Utah 360 app.

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