Utah ends five-game skid with close victory over TCU

Field Level Media|published: Sat 17th January, 17:02 2026

Jan 17, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; TCU Horned Frogs guard Jayden Pierre (1) goes to the basket against Utah Utes guard Obomate Abbey (21) during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

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

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