Runnin' Utes Roll Past Eastern Washington in Dominant Victory

Saturday, December 20

Salt Lake City, UT

5:00 PM

University of Utah

8-4,0-0Big 12

101

Eastern Washington

2-10,0-0Big Sky

Eastern Wash.

Utah

101

Runnin' Utes Roll Past Eastern Washington in Dominant Victory

12/20/2025 8:44 PM | Men's Basketball

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Five Utah players reached double-figures including Terrence Brown who added a career-high 11 assists

By: Austin Eames

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team heads into the Holiday break with a dominant 101-77 victory over Eastern Washington inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center Saturday night.

Seydou Traore gave Utah an early 9-8 edge with a three-pointer at the 15:56 mark before the Utes and the Eagles took turns trading buckets in the ensuing stretch of play.

Up 24-23 with 7:05 left in the first half, Josh Hayes opened up a 16-4 run for Utah that consisted of seven-consecutive baskets and closed with a triple from Don McHenry to put the Runnin' Utes on top 40-27 at the 3:45 mark.

Utah (8-4) closed the half a red-hot 11-of-12 from the field in the final seven minutes of action to take a 50-34 lead into the break behind 12 points from Keanu Dawes, who shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor, and 10 from McHenry (4-of-5 FG).

As a team, the Utes shot an impressive 74.1-percent (20-of-27) from the field during the first half and led by as many as 18 before the break.

Utah opened the second frame with the same relentless energy it brought in the first, extending its lead to 20 points at the 17:13 mark with another three from McHenry.

From there, Eastern Washington (2-10) fought its way back into the contest with a 7-0 scoring run that cut the lead to 58-45 with 16:15 left. Despite their opponent's persistence, the Utes maintained a double-digit advantage behind impressive play from Dawes, who accounted for the team's next five points – including a layup to make it 61-45 (15:32).

A 12-3 run then ensued for the Utes that lasted 3:04 minutes and was capped off by a fastbreak layup from Terrence Brown to give Utah its largest lead of the game 84-63.

The Utes sealed the game with a 15-7 run in the final 3:33 minutes of regulation to secure the 101-77 victory.

McHenry paced Utah with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting and 6-of-9 from downtown. Brown dropped 20 points of his own while adding a career-high 11 assists and 4 steals to earn his first double-double of the season (third of his career).

Dawes was Utah's most efficient player on the floor with 21 points and 9 rebounds on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting night. Kendyl Sanders and Traore rounded out Utah's group of double-digit scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

BY THE NUMBERS

Terrence Brown set a new career-high with 11 assists
- Tied a season-high with 4 steals
Freshman Kendyl Sanders scored 13 in the contest which is a new career-high
Keanu Dawes tied his previous career-high of 21 points (Last vs. UCF on Mar 11, 2025)
23 total assists is a new season-high for Utah
- The last time Utah had 20-plus assists in a game was against Oklahoma State (23) on Jan. 11, 2025
Utah's .741 shooting clip in the first half is the second highest in the Big 12 this season behind Iowa State vs. Alcorn State (.759).
Utah's 52 points in the paint are the team's most this season
Ibrahima Traore checked in with 2:39 left in the first half and scored his first collegiate basket at 29 seconds
Jerry Huang made his first appearance for Utah this season
The game marks the third time this season Utah has had five-or-more players score double-figures
Keanu Dawes perfect 9-of-9 shooting night ties the program record for shooting percentage (1.000) in a single-game
- Last player to go perfect from the field in a single game was David Collette (9-for-9) vs. UCLA on Feb. 22, 2018
The last time Utah had three players score 20-plus points in a single-game was at Washington on Jan. 21, 2017, with Lorenzo Bonam (24), Devon Daniels (24) and Kyle Kuzma (22)

UP NEXT
The Utes will now get a few days to relax and enjoy the Holiday Season before returning to the court for their final non-conference game against Washington on Monday, Dec. 29, starting at 9 p.m. (MST). Aaron Goldsmith will have the call on FS1 alongside former Stanford Cardinal standout Casey Jacobsen as the Runnin' Utes face off against a familiar foe in the Huskies.

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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