Utah Fends Off Late Push by TCU for First Conference Win

Saturday, January 17

Salt Lake City, UT

12:00 PM

University of Utah

9-9,1-4Big 12

TCU

11-7,1-4Big 12

TCU

Utah

Photo by: Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics

Utah Fends Off Late Push by TCU for First Conference Win

1/17/2026 3:56 PM | Men's Basketball

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Terrence Brown led all players with 26 points in the victory, 18 of which came during the second half

By: Austin Eames

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team secured its first conference win of the 2025-26 campaign with an 82-79 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Saturday afternoon.

Utah (9-9, 1-4 Big 12) opened the game with a bang, jumping out to a 14-0 lead after Keanu Dawes capped off the team's game-opening scoring run with a basket at 14:28.

TCU (11-7, 1-4 Big 12) struggled early in the contest, unable to connect with its first basket until the 13:52 mark as the Runnin' Utes held their opponent to 0-of-9 shooting to open the game.

The Horned Frogs closed the gap as the half progressed, but Utah never backed down—firing off an 8-0 run midway through the period to take its largest lead of the half (31-17) on a Josh Hayes layup at 5:45.

TCU responded with a 6-0 run of its own to get within 31-23, but the Runnin' Utes maintained their advantage—closing the period with a 38-30 edge after a dominant half from Dawes, who led the game with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Amidst a slow start from Utah, the Horned Frogs opened the second frame with a 9-1 run to tie the game at 39-39 with 15:21 left to go.

From there, Obomate Abbey broke a 3:16 scoreless streak for Utah with a layup—opening up a 7-0 run for the Utes that closed with a bucket from Don McHenry that gave Utah a 46-39 edge at 13:46.

After McHenry's triple, Utah's offense found a groove. The home team connected on 7 of their next 9 shot attempts, including a Terrence Brown jumper at 6:49 that extended Utah's advantage to 63-57.

Despite Utah's efforts, the Horned Frogs maintained their poise with an offensive streak of 13 consecutive field goals from the 10:00 mark until the final shot of the contest.

Overcoming constant pressure from their opponent, the Runnin' Utes sealed the game with a defensive stand on TCU's final possession. With the missed shot Utah secured a hard-fought 82-79 conference victory, its first of the 2025-26 season.

Utah was led by Brown, who finished the contest with a game-high 26 points (9-of-15 FG), 2 assists, 1 rebound and a steal. Dawes secured his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists. Seydou Traore and McHenry rounded out Utah's quartet of double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

BY THE NUMBERS

Utah outrebounded the Horned Frogs 40-31
Utah finished the contest with four players in double figures. The last time Utah had four players with 10-plus was Cal Baptist (Dec. 6, 2025)
The win against TCU marks the first Big 12 victory of Alex Jensen's college coaching career
The win also snaps a five-game losing streak matching the end of the 22-23 season
With 10 points and 14 rebounds, Keanu Dawes earned his fifth double-double of the season… the 11^th of his career

UP NEXT
Utah will have a short turnaround as it travels to Manhattan, Kan., for the first time since Dec. 1, 1973, for a 7 p.m. (MST) match-up against Kansas State on Tuesday, Jan. 20, inside Bramlage Coliseum. Tom McCarthy will call the action while former Villanova Wildcat and coaching veteran Chris Walker serves as the analyst on the CBS Sports Network broadcast.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Utes return to the Beehive State to prep for part two of the in-state rivalry game against No. 11/11 BYU on Saturday, Jan. 24, inside the Marriott Center. The 268th edition of the rivalry will have Aaron Goldsmith and former Stanford Cardinal Casey Jacobsen guiding fans through the action on FOX starting at 3:30 p.m. (MST).

SEASON TICKETS & MINI PLANS
Fans can choose between two mini plans; the Saturday ONLY Plan starts at $125 while the Conference ONLY plan starts at $150. Single-game tickets for conference games are also on-sale starting at just $10 per ticket.

Fans interested in buying 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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