Utah never trailed in picking up a Big 12 road win at TCU. Here’s how the Utes did it

[ad_1]

Utah forward Keanu Dawes (8) and the bench react to his slam dunk during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against TCU, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. | LM Otero

FORT WORTH, Texas — Craig Smith’s team is proving its resiliency.

The latest example came Wednesday night, as the Utah men’s basketball team went into Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and beat TCU 73-65.

The Utes never trailed, and they never let the Horned Frogs — who were 9-0 at home before the matchup — get going offensively.

It all led to a rare, but crucial road win for Utah, as it won its second straight Big 12 game after starting league play 0-3.

It was also the Utes’ first true road win of the year.

“That’s a really good win for us. I have so much respect for (TCU coach) Jamie Dixon, and he’s a great coach. And they eliminate losing — they make it really hard on teams to score,” Utah coach Craig Smith said.

“And obviously they’ve been electric at home. I mean, they’ve been undefeated. And so that’s a heck of a road win for us. You’ve got to earn everything with them.”

There were a lot of positives for Utah on a night where the basketball wasn’t always pretty.

How about the effort of Keanu Dawes? The sophomore forward scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half and helped the Utes (10-6, 2-3 Big 12) respond to a comeback effort from TCU (9-7, 2-3 Big 12).

Dawes played 26 minutes, shot 7 of 10 from the field — he’s become a master dunker — and added six rebounds, along with a block and steal in the final minute on back-to-back possessions as the Utes held off TCU.

What about a team-high 17 points from Gabe Madsen, along with a Utah-best five assists? He scored 11 of those points in the first half, helping to jumpstart the night for the visitors.

Mike Sharavjamts made a couple big shots early in the second half and finished with 10 points, while Lawson Lovering — who’s played a critical role in Utah’s free-flowing offense —…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/utah-never-trailed-picking-big-060141845.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2025-01-16 06:01:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.