Runnin' Utes Show Fight in Loss to UCF Knights

Saturday, February 21

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

10-17,2-12Big 12

UCF

19-7,8-6Big 12

UCF

Utah

Photo by: Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics

2/21/2026 10:20 PM | Men's Basketball

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Keanu Dawes’ 15pt/12reb double-double wasn’t enough in Utah’s down-to-the-wire loss to UCF

By: Austin Eames

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team fell, 73-71, in a down-to-the-wire battle with the UCF Knights Saturday night inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Utah (10-17, 2-12 Big 12) and the Knights traded baskets in the opening minutes of the contest as UCF gained a slight edge with an 8-7 advantage at the first media timeout (16:00).

Junior guard Terrence Brown took hold of the Utah offense coming out of the short break, scoring back-to-back buckets to give the Utes an 11-8 advantage with 14:46 to go in the first half.

From there, Utah continued to press its foot against the gas, earning a 24-21 advantage and forcing a UCF (19-7, 8-6 Big 12) timeout at 8:45 with a second-chance tip-in layup from Kendyl Sanders.

Much like Utah after the first timeout of the game, the Knights came out of the media break with a fiery mentality—firing off a 12-2 run that gave them a 33-26 lead with 4:31 left to go before halftime.

Down by as many as nine, the Utes continued to show fight down the stretch, utilizing a 6-0 run near the end of the period to get within one possession (39-36) before a late UCF score. Utah entered the half down 41-36.

The Runnin' Utes battled in the early minutes of the second period, getting within one possession of the Knights (51-49) on a layup from Don McHenry at 13:05. McHenry would be Utah's most prolific scorer in the period, accounting for 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.

Minutes later, down 59-52 with 10:06 to go, Utah erupted for a 10-0 run that concluded with a Keanu Dawes buzzer-beating jump shot at 7:04 that gave the Utes a 62-59 lead.

A few plays later, a corner three from McHenry electrified the Huntsman Center crowd and evened things up at 68-68. Two plays later, after one of the 16 total lead changes in the game, McHenry would again tie the contest (71-71) with :13 to go—this time on three makes from the foul stripe.

Despite the effort, UCF squeaked out a victory from the charity stripe after a late Utah foul, securing a 73-71 conference win on the road.

Brown led Utah with 21 points, 4 assists and one rebounds. McHenry added 19 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. Keanu Dawes added a double-double, his fourth in the last seven games, with 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and a block.

BY THE NUMBERS

With 15 points and 12 rebounds Keanu Dawes recorded his ninth double-double of the season.
- 15^th of his career
With 21 points Terrence Brown recorded his 16^th game this season with 20-plus points.
Utah finished the game perfect from the foul stripe, hitting 7-of-7 attempts
18 assists against UCF ties the second-most of the season for Utah. Utah had 18 assists against both San Jose State and Cal Poly earlier in the season
.491 marks Utah's third-highest shooting percentage of the season
Utah converted on 7 of 9 offensive rebounds that led to a 16-4 edge in points off OREB

UP NEXT
Utah closes out its short homestand the following Tuesday, Feb. 24, against #6/6 Iowa State starting at 7 p.m. (MST) inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Carlo Jimenez is set to guide fans through the action while former Arizona Wildcat Matt Muehlebach serves as the analyst on FS1 as the Cyclones make their first visit to SLC.

TICKET DEALS
Fans interested in buy tickets to the final three remaining home games 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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