- Utah's Runnin' Utes fell to Oklahoma State 81-69 despite four players scoring double figures.
- Coach Alex Jensen criticized his team's 'selfish' play and lack of cohesion.
- Oklahoma State's Anthony Roy scored 26 points including a personal 9-0 stretch.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah had four players score in double figures, but the team couldn't get the job done at home Saturday night as Oklahoma State was just a little better down the stretch.
The Cowboys erased a one-time 4-point Utes lead with 15:11 left to play, and slowly pulled away for a 81-69 win on the road for the team's third win in conference play. It was the first win on the road in conference play for Oklahoma State since Feb. 21, 2024.
And while the two teams had a lot in common in team statistics, Utah (9-12, 1-7 Big 12) head coach Alex Jensen said the game ultimately came down to the "selfish" play from his team, especially over the last five minutes of the game.
"Too many guys are in their own world," Jensen said. "Too many guys start the game thinking about just scoring. We didn't pass, and then, obviously, that hurts our defense. But there's also other ways to be selfish: guys not talking, guys not being ready to shoot, like that. That's a way to be selfish, as well, but we need to do a better job.
"Coaches don't win, players win games, not coaches, and the players can't do it unless they do it with each other. And we have too many guys on an island thinking about what they need to do by themselves, not how they fit into the group."
Neither team led by more than 8 points through the duration of the game in a fairly balanced effort between the two teams, but Oklahoma State (15-6, 3-5 Big 12) found its stride late and ballooned its lead to double digits with 1:26 left to finish shooting 48% from the field.
Conversely, Utah couldn't get into much of a rhythm late on offense, shooting 41% from the field, and gave up too much of defense to drop another game.
"I just think we went away from what got us the lead that we had in the first half and through the majority of the game," Utah' forward Keanu Dawes said. "And then we just didn't really come together as a team on both sides of the ball. Defensively, there was a lot of lost positions that happened; and, offensively, same thing."
Oklahoma State's Anthony Roy had the biggest influence to Utah's demise, hitting five shots from behind the 3-point line en route to a game-high 26 points — including a personal 9-0 stretch in the first half on back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers.
And it wasn't like Roy was a secret Utah didn't know about. Jensen said the coaching staff prepared the team all week for what he could do on the offensive side, and his team couldn't get it done.
"We have multiple guys that don't talk, and that's one way to be selfish, because you're in your own little world," Jensen said. "But give Roy credit, hard to guard. ... We're not a very good defensive team, and like a lot of times, it's not the scheme. You've just got to guard the guy in front of you and not let him go to the basket without touching him. And I don't know a solution for that right now."
Terrence Brown led the Utes with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while Don McHenry added 17 points in the loss. Dawes finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, but Utah was outrebounded 43-34, and Oklahoma State managed 12 second-chance points.
Christian Coleman had a double-double for the Cowboys with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
It was another game Utah was close with its opponent but wasn't able to stay engaged for the duration of the game. Jensen said he thought his team had made progress, but said Saturday night that he believes his team "regressed."
