Runnin' Utes Fall in Battle With Cougars

Saturday, January 24

Provo, UT / Marriott Center

3:30 PM

University of Utah

9-11,1-6Big 12

BYU

17-2,5-1Big 12

Utah

BYU

Photo by: Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics

1/24/2026 6:11 PM | Men's Basketball

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Keanu Dawes’ career-high 23-point performance wasn’t enough as Utah fell to BYU 91-78

By: Austin Eames

PROVO, Utah – The Utah men's basketball team fell to the No. 13 BYU Cougars, 91-78, inside the Marriott Center Saturday night.

Utah (9-11, 1-6 Big 12) overcame a slow start to get within one possession of the Cougars (14-12) on a Terrence Brown three-pointer at the 10:56 mark.

Brown's triple jump started a spree of offense for the Utes, who made seven consecutive shots during a 3:04 sequence that was capped off by a Don McHenry jumper at 6:56. McHenry's clutch bucket would put Utah ahead 28-26 before BYU (17-2, 5-1 Big 12) responded with a 4-0 run by AJ Dybantsa to go ahead 30-28.

Utah tied the game minutes later as Seydou Traore snuck behind the defense for a layup to make it 32-32 with 3:45 to go.

BYU reclaimed its advantage in the final minutes of the frame, as Utah entered the break trailing 42-37. McHenry led the Utes with 12 first half points while Dawes added 11 and five rebounds in the period.

Utah opened the second frame with a 5-0 scoring sequence, made possible by buckets from Dawes and McHenry, to get within 46-45 with 17:57 to go. The one-point deficit would be the closest the away team came to retaking a lead as BYU pulled away in the ensuing minutes of action.

The Cougars shot 60-percent from the field in the second, outscoring their opponent 49-41 in the period as Utah was unable to keep pace, falling 91-78.

Utah was led by Dawes, who scored a career-high 23 points to go along with 6 rebounds and an assist. Brown added 22 points with 4 assists and a rebound. McHenry rounded out Utah's group of double-figure scorers with 16 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.

BY THE NUMBERS

With 23 points against BYU, Keanu Dawes set a new career-high in scoring. Dawes previous career-high of 21 points came most recently against the Eastern Washington Eagles on Dec. 20, 2025.
Utah out shot BYU from beyond the arc 13-8. The Utes also had a better shooting percentage from three—62-percent from deep compared to the Cougars' 42-percent
13 threes is a new season-high for Utah. The team's previous was 12 made triples at Texas Tech (1/14/26) and vs. Purdue Ft. Wayne (11/18/25)
Utah also shot perfect from the free-throw line, hitting all six of its attempts

UP NEXT
Utah returns home to the friendly confines of the Jon M. Huntsman Center for a brief homestand starting with Oklahoma State on Saturday, Jan. 31, starting at 4 p.m. (MST) on ESPN2. Roxy Bernstein will have the action alongside former Arizona Wildcat Corey Williams as Utah welcomes in the Cowboys for the eighth meeting all-time between the two programs.

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 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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