Hold off on that “epitome of brutality” tweet, Jon Rothstein.
The University of Utah is 2-0 in the Alex Jensen era thanks to a furious comeback Saturday as the Runnin’ Utes rallied to beat in-state rival Weber State 92-89 in overtime.
The first game between the two schools since 2019 — and first at the Huntsman Center since 2010 — looked like a sure Wildcats victory for much of the night.
Utah found its offense through its dynamic guard duo, though, and turned around a horrid half of rebounding and defense to rally past Weber State.
“Give Weber State credit. They were well-prepared, did a good job,” said Jensen, the Utes’ first-year head coach. “I think we did a good job responding in the second half, and we found a way to win.
“Kind of disappointed because we were outrebounded like we were in the first half, and that was a point of emphasis that we made after the San Jose State game. We responded, but fortunate to get the win.”
How the game transpired
The first half was defined by three different runs. First, Weber State took control with a 15-0 run that turned a four-point deficit into an 11-point lead at 26-15.
Utah then made its way back into the game by hitting eight straight field goals to knot the game at 39-all with 3:41 until halftime.
Over the final three minutes of the half, Weber State again gained control with a 10-3 run — the Wildcats made their final four field goals of the first half, while Utah missed its last three.
The game went back and forth for much of the second half, even as Weber State never lost the lead. There was a thrilling finish, though.
After Utah fell behind by 10 at 72-62 with eight minutes to play, the Utes fought their way back into the contest — and just missed on some opportunities to regain the lead.
With under two minutes to play, after a technical foul on Weber State and subsequent free-throw make put the score at 78-75, the Utes had possession and a chance to tie.
That didn’t happen, but a Keanu Dawes putback slam made it a one-point game.
After the teams traded points over the next minute and a half of play, Weber State’s Trevor Hennig made 1 of 2 free throws — and his made free throw nearly bounced out — with 12 seconds left to make it 84-81.
On the ensuing possession, Terrence Brown found Dony McHenry in the corner and McHenry coolly sank a 3 with 3.7 seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime.
Brown and McHenry combined for all eight of Utah’s points in overtime, as Utah grabbed its first lead since eight minutes into the contest.
Weber State still had a chance with 5.3 seconds to play after Utah freshman Kendyl Sanders missed two free throws, but Jace Whiting airballed a deep 3-pointer as time expired.
“I think we’re down 10 with seven minutes to go, and we didn’t stop,” Jensen said. “And you know, (I’m) happy for our guys, Don hitting that shot and seeing the excitement and his teammates, but (there’s) a lot to learn.”
Utah’s guard duo put on another showcase
Both Brown and McHenry, the Utes’ starting backcourt pair, had double-digit points by halftime, and Utah relied on the pair to bring it back, even after trailing by 10 with eight minutes to play.
While it will take some time for Utah’s offense to truly gel with the number of new faces the Utes have, it’s clear that Brown and McHenry will lead that charge.
Brown had a career-high 36 points while shooting 13 of 23 from the field and 10 of 15 from the free-throw line, as he showcased the ability to drive to the hole with ease. He also had four rebounds and three assists, with two turnovers.
“Coach kept calling my number,” Brown said. “He was calling plays for me to get open, and then the team just spacing out and making it able for me to get downhill and get my shot going.”
McHenry added 26 points and hit a team-high four 3-pointers, none bigger than his 3 that tied the game late in regulation — which appropriately enough came off an assist from Brown.
It was a good thing that the guards got as hot as they did. Seydou Traore, who scored a career-high 23 points in the Utes’ season-opening win over San Jose State, was scoreless Saturday night.
The Utes only had three players score in double figures, with Dawes adding 11 points before fouling out.
McHenry added six rebounds — one game after he had nine — and an assist to go with three turnovers, while helping Utah finish the night shooting 40% from the floor.
“He comes from a winning program up at Western Kentucky. He hit a bunch of crazy shots there, too,” Brown said of McHenry. “That was the first thing I seen when he committed (to Utah). It was a crazy shot that he hit.
“I already knew he was a crazy shot maker, and that’s why I put my trust into him. When I passed it to him in the corner, Coach told me just get downhill and find a shooter, and he was the first person I seen. I didn’t even hesitate to pass it to him.”
Keanu Dawes helped spark a rebounding comeback
At the break, when Weber State had a 49-42 lead and was threatening to run away with the game, the Wildcats held a dominant 27-13 edge on the boards.
That included an 11-5 difference in offensive rebounding, which allowed the Wildcats to have a 16-6 advantage in second-chance points in the first half.
This came after Jensen stressed that Utah needed to work on rebounding and defense earlier in the week.
Weber State also owned an 11-0 edge in fast-break points in the first half.
While the defense is going to take some serious work — and time — the Utes were able to improve their rebounding in the second half against Weber State.
“We’ve got to hit first. It’s a message. I think there’s at least two instances where we gave up offensive rebounds (from) the free-throw line, and they weren’t long rebounds,” Jensen said.
“We just got, you know, outphysicaled. I think you look into overtime when we had the sense of urgency. Hopefully we can have that throughout the whole game.”
Dawes, the lone rotation player back for the Utes this season, helped lead that rebounding effort, as he had 10 of his 14 rebounds in the second half.
By game’s end, Utah trailed in rebounding by a slim 52-49 margin, though it ended up with a 19-17 advantage in offensive rebounds and also had more second-chance points, at 23-20.
None were bigger than Dawes’ putback dunk with 1:37 to play to make it a one-point game.
That moment electrified the crowd, and while Weber State continued to hang around, the Utes had momentum in their favor.
“We were losing the rebound battle by double digits (after the first half),“ Dawes said. ”And as you know, knowing that’s my game. I took pride in being, ‘OK, I gotta be the guy to kind of get the rebounds going.’»
What can the Utes learn from this one?
Going into the night, this looked like it shouldn’t have been a close matchup.
Utah, even with its relatively new roster, was No. 81 in KenPom’s ratings going into the day, while Weber State, coming off a losing season and having plenty of newcomers of its own, was No. 299.
The Utes built a small lead early, but Weber State took control with a 15-0 run in the first half to seize momentum — and for a good portion of the night, it looked like Weber State was going to earn its first win over Utah since 2011.
The Wildcats got double-figure scoring from five different players, led by Whiting’s 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting, as Weber State outshot the Utes 45.2% to 40.3% from the field.
Utah made more 3-pointers, though, at 9 to 6, and was better at the free-throw line. The Utes hit 21 of 32, while Weber State was 17 of 28.
That was enough for Utah to squeeze out a victory when it looked like it would be a difficult home loss to swallow. Instead, the Utes moved to 28-14 all-time against the Wildcats.
“I don’t know how many of our guys have been in a situation like that,” Jensen said. “After the game, I talked about the one sequence where I think (Dawes) was great for us in the second half, just rebounding, and he had the one possession with the two offensive rebounds and the second one was the dunk.
“As great of a play that was, my message to them was, let’s not wait till we’re down 10 before we play like that.”
