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FORT WORTH, Texas — Keanu Dawes has no respect for the rim.
After doing his part to bend the rim in a win against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Dawes followed up his performance with another monster performance in the post on the road against TCU.
The Runnin' Utes controlled a game-high 14-point lead over the Horned Frogs before the home team started to battle back and make it a two-possession game. But Dawes took matters into his own hands and got a pair of big-time dunks to keep the Utes in front on the road.
He even got a soft finish around the rim late to show some diversity in his scoring profile.
The sophomore forward finished with 16 points as Utah held on to beat TCU 73-65 at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena Wednesday night, giving the Runnin' Utes their second consecutive win in Big 12 play.
Utah (10-6, 2-3 Big 12) becomes the first visiting team to win in Fort Worth this season.
Though TCU (9-7, 2-3 Big 12) tied the game up early in the game, Utah never trailed and controlled it from start to finish. Utah built up its lead largely with an emphasis in team passing and moving the ball around a Horned Frogs defense.
The Utes controlled a 4-point lead at the halftime break before a 7-0 run to start the second half gave Utah more room to work from. The Horned Frogs battled back in the second half, cutting the deficit to as low at 5 points before Dawes took over in the post.
MAKE WAY FOR KEANU DAWES!!!!! 🔨🔨🔨 pic.twitter.com/IchTU2QNPk
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 16, 2025
And then Utah finished at the free-throw line to seal the win.
Utah went a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute to keep the advantage, with Gabe Madsen hitting six of the free throws to finish the night with a team-high 17 points, five assists and two rebounds in the win.
For the game, Utah shot 19-of-29 from the free-throw line, which was a major advantage considering TCU shot only 10-of-21 from the free-throw line on the night.
Lawson Lovering added 11 points and five rebounds, and Mike Sharavjamts contributed 10 points and three rebounds in the win on a night where Utah shot 49% from the field and assisted on 18 of the team's 24 made baskets.
The Horned Frogs shot just 38% from the field despite having four player finish in double figures. Vasean Allette, who tried to will TCU into a win late in the game, led the team with 19 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Noah Reynolds and Brendan Wenzel each contributed 12 points, while Micah Robinson added 10 points.