Runnin' Utes Suffer 68-58 Loss to Grand Canyon at Acrisure Series Opener

Tuesday, November 25

Palm Desert, CA / Acrisure Arena

10 PM

University of Utah

5-2,0-0Big 12

Grand Canyon

4-2,0-0Mountain West

Utah

Grand Canyon

Runnin' Utes Suffer 68-58 Loss to Grand Canyon at Acrisure Series Opener

11/26/2025 1:22 AM | Men's Basketball

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Keanu Dawes posted his fourth double-double of the night in Tuesday night’s loss.

By: Austin Eames

PALM DESERT, Calif. – The Utah men's basketball team fell to Grand Canyon in their first road loss of the 2025-26 season, 68-58, inside the Acrisure Arena on Tuesday night.

Down 15-8 early in the contest, a triple from Jacob Patrick moved the Utes within two possessions (15-11) of Grand Canyon with 13:03 left in the half.

The Lopes responded quickly with a layup to stretch their advantage before Utah fired off a 7-0 scoring run to take its first lead of the contest on a jumper from Patrick. The bucket gave the Utes an 18-17 edge with 10:22 remaining until the break.

As the half progressed, Utah's defense stood tall, holding Grand Canyon without a score for 4:10 minutes of action. Despite the defensive stand, the Lopes extended their advantage by way of the free-throw line, hitting 11-of-14 attempts from the charity stripe, including 5-of-6 attempts in the final two minutes of the half.

Utah entered break down 33-28 despite holding Grand Canyon to 34.9-percent shooting from the field (11-for-30) and without a shot from beyond the arc (0-7).

Down 41-31 after a second-chance layup from James Okonkwo with 16:21 on the clock, Utah forced Grand Canyon into eight consecutive missed field-goals and cut its deficit to 43-26 on a dunk from Keanu Dawes at 11:35.

Minutes later, the Runnin' Utes came within six points of tying the game after Seydou Traore connected on an Obomate Abbey assisted three to bring them within 47-41 with 8:23 remaining.

Traore's score would be the closest Utah came as the Lopes controlled the rest of the way to hand the Utes their second loss of the year.

Don McHenry led the Utes with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Dawes rounded out Utah's duo of double-figure scorers with 10 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year.

BY THE NUMBERS

Utah's defense held Grand Canyon 0-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc
Utah went to the free-throw line just 18 times compared to GCU's 32
Utah won the battle of the boards 40-33

UP NEXT
Utah will wrap up its time at the Acrisure Series on Wednesday, Nov. 26, against Ole Miss in the last game of the night inside Acrisure Arena. Ed Cohen and former Gonzaga great Dan Dickau will once against guide fans through the action starting at 10 p.m. (MDT) / 9 p.m. (PDT) on CBS Sports Network.

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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