Three-point prowess pushes Utah past Purdue Fort Wayne

Terence Brown scored 27 points and Dom McHenry added 18 to lead Utah to an 85-77 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night.

Seydou Traore added 17 points for the Utes. Brown and Traore combined to knock down nine 3-pointers. Keanu Dawes and James Okonkwo each collected 10 rebounds apiece while Dawes chipped in 10 points.

The Utes (5-0) shot 51.8% from the floor and had 17 assists on 29 baskets.

Corey Hadnot II led the Mastodons with 20 points. Mikale Stevenson and DeAndre Craig Jr. added 15 apiece. Craig added a game-high seven assists.

Purdue Fort Wayne (2-4) remains winless against Division I opponents this season despite scoring 16 points off turnovers and outscoring Utah 42-34 in the paint. The Mastodons had lost their previous three contests against Division I teams by an average of 19 points.

The Mastodons rallied from a 16-point deficit to make it a close game in the final two minutes. Utah went nearly six minutes without making a basket, opening a door for Purdue Fort Wayne to rally. The Utes missed six straight shots and committed four turnovers during that stretch.

Maximus Nelson's 3-pointer helped the Mastodons draw within 74-68 with 1:22 left. Brown, Dawes, and Traore combined to make eight free throws in the final minute to help Utah hold on.

Brown and Traore made three 3-pointers apiece before halftime to give Utah's offense and early boost. They both shot 60% from 3-point range during the first half.

Four baskets from Brown fueled a 15-4 run that gave the Utes a 23-11 lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Traore helped Utah extend its lead to 40-26 before halftime.

Brown opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers -- the second one coming off a steal -- to put the Utes up 48-32 less than a minute into the half.

--Field Level Media