Utah’s third game in seven days to open the 2025-26 college basketball season certainly brought the most oohs and aahs from the crowd.
The Runnin’ Utes finally took control and ran past an overmatched opponent, beating Holy Cross 87-69 at the Huntsman Center on Monday night.
Utah improved to 3-0 on the young season as several of its players, including veterans like Terrence Brown and Keanu Dawes and freshmen like Obomate Abbey and Kendyl Sanders, got the home crowd to show appreciation for the athleticism the Utes showed off throughout the night.
“Pleased with the rebounding. That was a point of emphasis the last two games. We did a good job tonight out-rebounding them both halves,” Utah coach Alex Jensen said.
“... Every guy tonight that played had an assist, and they cut the lead to nine a couple times, but I think we did a good job of playing the right way and not going rogue.”
How the game transpired
The game went back and forth over the first seven minutes, before five straight points from Sanders — a 3 from the sideline and an ankle-breaking drive to the hoop — gave Utah some separation at 15-10.
The Utes later went on a quick 7-0 spurt to give them their first double-digit lead at 27-17 on a wide-open Josh Hayes bucket at the rim, prompting a timeout from Holy Cross.
Utah led by as many as 15 points in the first half before taking a 48-34 lead into the half. The Utes held a 21-12 rebounding edge in the opening 20 minutes and shot 58.8%, relying on an offensive game plan that emphasized cutting to the basket.
Holy Cross briefly made the game interesting in the second half’s opening minutes, as the Crusaders opened the half on a 7-0 run and even got it down to a six-point game on a Joe Nugent 3-pointer.
The Utes responded, though, pushing the lead back out to double-digits over the next couple minutes.
Holy Cross eventually made it a 68-59 game with 9:35 to play on Nugent’s fifth 3 of the night, but Utah went on a 7-0 run to effectively put the contest away and the Crusaders went five and a half minutes without scoring.
Athleticism and offensive ball movement
Utah played like it was the favored team in this one — the Utes were more confident in their movement over stretches and showcased more of their athleticism than they had during the first week of the season.
Utah especially excelled at attacking the rim, as they finished the game with 44 points in the paint, accounting for 50.5% of the Utes’ points. That ratio was bigger in the first half, when 28 of Utah’s 48 points came in the paint.
During a stretch in the first half where Utah made seven straight field goals to push its lead out to double-digits, six of those came on layups.
Brown, with 21 points, Dawes (14) and Don McHenry (12) again led the offensive attack, while Seydou Traore shook off a third straight scoreless half and had 10 second-half points to also score in double-figures.
Abbey, a freshman, scored a career-high 10 points and made two 3-pointers as well.
Brown scored 14 of his points on layups, as he once again was adept at driving to the basket. He was 8 of 16 from the field and 5 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Dawes nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds as Utah showed solid ball movement while shooting 53.3% from the field.
Bench guys like Abbey and Hayes (9 points), as well as Sanders (7), provided more of a scoring punch than they had so far in the young season. Utah ended by outscoring Holy Cross 21-14 in bench points.
“Abbey had a big game tonight, and I think Josh Hayes played really hard — got in foul trouble, but I think he played really hard,” Jensen said.
One of Utah’s biggest struggles from its first two games was rebounding, and on Monday, they had a 33-23 rebounding edge.
“It was a big emphasis this week, we knew we didn’t rebound too well against Weber State,” Hayes said. “So even though it was a quick turnaround, coach just emphasized that we have to rebound — hit early, be more physical. Want it more, to be honest."
Dawes’ put-back slam gave Utah a 72-59 lead with just over seven minutes to play. That was one of several plays that allowed the Utes to have an 8-7 advantage in second-chance points.
The Utes also had a season-low six turnovers in their win, while Utah finished with 15 assists. All eight Utes who logged minutes had assists, led by three from Abbey.
Defensive lapses, but better than two days earlier
There are enough consistent defensive lapses from the Utes to wonder what’s going to happen when this Utah team, which already doesn’t have a lot of height, hits Big 12 play in a couple months.
That, in part, allowed Holy Cross to stick around during several instances throughout the game, though to Utah’s credit, they opened up a double-digit lead in the first half and led by a season-high 14 points at halftime.
There’s obviously time to learn and become more cohesive on the defensive end, it’s just a situation that happens when there is this much turnover on the roster.
“I think just overall, making it a priority, that’s where the game starts,” Jensen said of what he wants to see from his team to improve defensively.
“I always say, ‘If you’re struggling shooting, instead of talking about shooting or taking more shots, go rebound, go defend.’ And usually it’s funny how that helps you with your shooting.”
Holy Cross shot 44.4% in the first half, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Nugent burned Utah from 3-point range several times, as he finished with a team high in points and made 5 of 9 from long range.
If the Crusaders were better at the free-throw line, this could have been a more interesting game. Holy Cross ended up going 10 of 21 from the line.
Guarding the key is a work in progress for Utah, and Holy Cross attacked the basket more to start the second half. That helped them stick around until midway through the second half, as Holy Cross scored 26 points in the paint, 18 in the second half.
The Utes, though, will get fifth-year forward James Okonkwo back in their next game after he missed the opening three games due to transfer rules.
Eventually, the Utes should also get Ibi Traore for the first time as a Ute — he missed all last season with an injury and has yet to play this year.
What this can mean for the future
It’s another step in the right direction for a Utah team that is trying to build a culture of tough-minded play.
It’s a process that will take time and must be appreciated as it comes for a group of mostly newcomers who are learning through experience together.
There was growth Monday night, when you consider that just two days before, Utah had to rally from 10 down in the second half to beat Weber State at the Huntsman.
This was a good test for Utah to show it can play well enough to win on a quick turnaround — something the Utes will have to do more when conference play is here than during the spread-out non-conference slate.
“The short turnaround, I think, is a compliment to them. They felt kind of bad or discouraged how they came out against Weber,” Jensen said. “... Give it to them. It’s not common that you play two games in three days, and they came out from the opening tip, did a good job, pretty consistent, with a couple lulls, but put together a complete game.”
On this night, the Utes didn’t let their opposition seriously challenge to steal a win. Instead, they played better from the start and grew from that experience.
It sets up the chance for Utah to learn more about itself as the Utes continue a six-game home stretch to start the year. Up next is a matchup with Sam Houston on Saturday, with the opportunity to move to 4-0.
“Since it was a quick turnaround, I think when we had practice on Sunday, (there was) a quick emphasis on getting back some of the basic things, especially the players that thought they didn’t play their best,” Seydou Traore said. “For example, like me against Weber State, I feel like I didn’t play my best, but I didn’t let it affect me. You know, just the experience I have playing college basketball was just, on to the next game.
“We emphasize that in practice: next play, next game. So it’s a good one for us, definitely a confidence builder for us, and we just gonna keep building from there.”