SALT LAKE CITY — In the final home nonconference game of the season, the Runnin' Utes left no doubt in a blowout win over a two-win Eastern Washington team at the Huntsman Center.
Keanu Dawes carried the team early and then Don McHenry and Terrence Brown — the team's leading scorers this season — put the final touches on a 101-77 win over the Eagles Saturday night.
McHenry made six 3-pointers (on nine attempts) to lead the team with 27 points, and Dawes added 21 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the field, while contributing nine rebounds and two assists in the win.
Brown supplied an additional 20 points, 11 assists and three rebounds for the Utes (8-4).
Utes head coach Alex Jensen called Saturday's performance the "best game" his team has played over a 40-minute period, where his team "kind of controlled and stayed in control and followed the game plan."
Jensen wasn't wrong in his assessment of his team, who shot 74.1% from the floor in the first half — the second-highest in the Big 12 this season — and kept the momentum rolling for the duration of the game. In many games this season, Utah would let a double-digit lead crumble and allow a team to remain close.
The most recent was last week when Utah gave up a 17-point lead and lost to Mississippi State.
But Utah found a way Saturday to play a compete game — even when Eastern Washington made attempts at times to cut into Utah's lead. Instead, Utah finished strong to build up a game-high lead.
"It means a lot," Dawes said of breaking the century mark for the first time this season. "100 points is definitely a cool accomplishment to have, but I think the biggest takeaway for us is that we're able to finish games."
Outside of a short 2-point lead for Eastern Washington (2-10) early in the game, Utah led for the entirety, building up a 29-point lead. Utah shot 68% from the floor in the win, while outscoring Eastern Washington 52-38 in the post.
"Our high shooting percentage, I think, was a tribute to the playing with the pass, which we talked about not taking early bad shots and playing together, which I think we did a really good job, best job tonight," Jensen said, speaking to his team's 23 assists on 39 made shots. 'I think that was reflected in our shooting percentage, especially in the first half."
"I think it just started from how we came out the gym ready to play, and just getting everybody involved early on in the game," Dawes said.
The Eagles had three players finish in double figures, with Alton Hamilton IV topping the box score with 19 points and nine rebounds in a loss. Kiree Huie contributed an additional 17 points and nine rebounds.
Most impressive, though, was Utah's defense limiting Eastern Washington's leading scorer Isaiah Moses to just 6 points on 2-of-11 shooting and 0-of-6 from 3-point range.
Utah freshman Kendyl Sanders added 13 points and was a team-high +25 in plus-minus in 25 minutes Saturday, building on several recent games of improvement. Seydou Traore, who started out the game with two 3-pointers, finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Ibi Traore, who suffered a season-ending injury before the 2024-25 season, played his first collegiate minutes Saturday, quickly adding a basket in his first couple minutes. Though still on a minutes restriction, Jensen said his play on the court forced the coaching staff to keep him in the game for a total of nine minutes.
But his presence, Dawes added, will be a much-needed addition to the team as it transitions to Big 12 play with his length and physicality on the court.
Utah has one final nonconference game of the season — a road contest against Washington in Seattle on Dec. 29 (9 p.m. MST, FS1) — before starting Big 12 play against No. 1 Arizona on Jan. 3 (2 p.m. MST, Peacock) at the Huntsman Center.
