Utah ends five-game skid with close victory over TCU

Original article can be found here.

Terrence Brown scored 26 points as Utah held on for its first Big 12 Conference win of the season Saturday, 82-79 over TCU in Salt Lake City.

Don McHenry added 12 points, Seydou Traore contributed 11, and Keanu Dawes chipped in 10 points and 14 rebounds for Utah (9-9, 1-4) which snapped a five-game skid.

David Punch led TCU (11-7, 1-4) with 22 points and Michah Robinson tallied 14 for the Horned Frogs, who dropped their fourth straight game.

With 15 seconds left, Brown hit two foul shots for an 81-77 Utah lead. A dunk by Punch pulled TCU to 81-79 with nine seconds to play, but McHenry made a free throw for the final margin as Robinson’s corner 3-pointer came up short with one second remaining.

Utah opened the game with a 14-0 outburst bookended by Dawes. He had a game-opening dunk and capped the run with a ferocious follow-up slam. Conversely, the Horned Frogs started the game cold, missing their first nine shots before a Jace Posey jam at the 13:52 mark.

Eventually, TCU trimmed the Utah lead to 21-15 on a Liutauras Lelevicius jumper. The Utes reeled off an 8-0 rally, and a Josh Hayes layup built their lead to 31-17.

Just before halftime, McHenry’s alley-oop pass to Brown for a two-hand slam gave the Utes a 38-30 lead headed into the locker room.

TCU continued to chip away at its deficit and opened the second half with a 9-1 spurt. A Tanner Toolson layup tied the game at 39.

Later, a Traore 3-pointer and a Brown jumper gave Utah a 63-57 lead with 6:49 remaining. McHenry hit three foul shots for a 76-68 lead with 2:12 to play. Layups by Brock Harding and Punch cut Utah’s lead to 76-72 with 1:45 left.

Kendyl Sanders split a pair of foul shots, but a Utah offensive rebound led to Brown splitting two free throws for a 78-72 lead. Punch scored inside with 42 seconds left, pulling TCU to 78-74. After Traore made a free throw, Robinson drilled a 3-pointer, and the Horned Frogs were down 79-77 with 21 seconds to play before Utah secured the victory.

–Field Level Media

Original article: https://yournews.com/2026/01/17/6196119/utah-ends-five-game-skid-with-close-victory-over-tcu/