In-state classic: Weber State gives up game-long lead late; Utah prevails in overtime
MBB final: Utah 92, Weber State 89 (OT)
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- Weber State’s Jace Whiting, right, drives against Utah’s Keanu Dawes (8) on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Utah guard Terrence Brown (2) celebrates a basket against Weber State on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State guard Viljami Vartiainen (8) shoots past utah’s Jacob Patrick (6) on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Utah’s Josh Hayes (7) fouls Weber State’s Nigel Burris during a shot attempt on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Utah guard Terrence Brown (2) drives against Weber State defenders ArDarius Grayson, left, and Trevor Hennig on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State guard Tijan Saine Jr. reacts after making a 3-pointer against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State forward Edwin Suarez Jr. rises to score against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State men’s basketball head coach Eric Duft gestures during a game against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State guard Jace Whiting drives against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State forward Nigel Burris rises to shoot against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State guard Jace Whiting (24) drives against contact from Utah’s Don McHenry on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State guard Viljami Vartiainen (8) pulls up for a shot in front of Utah’s Jacob Patrick (6) on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State guard ArDarius Grayson (12) drives against Utah’s Seydou Traore on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State’s Jace Whiting rises to score against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State guard Trevor Hennig, left, drives around Utah’s Jacob Patrick on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Utah’s Obomate Abbey (21) brings the ball up court against Weber State’s ArDarius Grayson on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Weber State center Malek Gomma, left, shoots a paint attempt over Utah’s Josh Hayes (7) on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
Utah hadn’t scheduled Weber State men’s basketball for a campus game in 14 years and the two hadn’t played in the Huntsman Center in 15 years. So when Saturday evening’s reunion that had Utah favored by as many as 20 points turned into a spirited, 45-minute battle, it felt like it belonged.
But good games and good efforts feel hollow for the purple visitors. The Wildcats led for most of the first half and the entire second half, but the Utes had Terrence Brown and Don McHenry.
Utah rode Brown’s unstoppable dribble penetration to a comeback, McHenry sent the game to extra time with a late 3-pointer and the Utes prevailed 92-89 in overtime to hold off Weber State’s upset bid.
“I thought we competed really hard and played the way we wanted to play. Looking back at it, I thought the only aspect they outplayed us was on the free-throw line,” WSU head coach Eric Duft said. “But I’m proud of the effort of our players, and now we’ve just got to learn to close out games. We’ve got a team that plays hard; it was a good team effort tonight.”
Weber State nursed its lead several times in the second half with Brown — who scored a career-high 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting and 10 of 15 at the foul line — getting to the rim almost at will. But with the Utes pushing, Jace Whiting dropped in WSU’s first 3-pointer in what seemed like forever, Edwin Suarez Jr. softly put back a two-handed rebound basket, and Tijan Saine Jr. swished home a cold, pull-up 3-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead 72-62 with 8 minutes left.
WSU squandered chances to grow the lead in the next segment and McHenry, who finished with 26 points, canned a 3-pointer to make it 72-69. But Saine free throws and Hennig converting a tough, spinning drive restored WSU to a seven-point lead with 4:15 left.
In a crucial moment, Saine rebounded his own miss and scored a putback for a 78-74 lead with 2:07 left, but was whistled for a one-shot technical foul in the aftermath. Pushing to get up and get back on defense, he interfered with Utah’s inbound pass, drawing the whistle.
McHenry made the freebie and Utah cut it to one when big man Keanu Dawes emphatically flushed home a putback dunk on the ensuing possession.
But WSU seemed to have the answer despite Dawes’ crowd-igniter. Hennig swished a wing 3 and Saine scooped in a tough right-going-left leaner, and Weber led 83-79 with 25 seconds left.
After Brown took one of his many trips to the free-throw line and made both, all the Wildcats needed were a pair of made free throws. Hennig delivered one that rolled around and in, but missed the second with 12.5 seconds remaining.
Utah pushed ahead and, off the miss, Weber opted not to foul. That seemd to be a mistake, as the ball found McHenry in the right corner for a game-tying 3-pointer, which he delivered with 3.5 seconds left to send the game to overtime at 84-84.
Duft noted a new rule change is likely to have fewer teams fouling up three in that situation.
“There’s 12 seconds on the clock, we’re not going to foul with that much time left. And there’s a new rule in college basketball now with continuation,” Duft explained. “So you’re going to see fewer and fewer teams foul in that situation because if they’re facing the basket and pick up their dribble and you foul, they take one step and can get three free throws.
“We’d already addressed that with our team and played it like we wanted to play it. Got to hand it to McHenry, made a tough shot there.”
Brown got to the line to open overtime and made both, putting Utah ahead 86-84, the Utes’ first lead since it led 15-14 with 11 minutes left in the first half. Brown, a 6-foot-3 junior and a Minnesota native, transferred to Utah after averaging 20.6 points per game last season at Fairleigh Dickinson.
Despite getting down four in the opening minute, the Wildcats kept in the fight. Whiting scored in transition from Saine, Hennig made one of two free throws, and Saine made a pair for a 92-89 score with 1:02 left.
WSU got the stop it needed when Utah missed two 3-pointers, but the Utes successfully chased the perimeter and Saine missed an attempt inside. Still, Kendyl Sanders missed two free throws for Utah with 5.6 seconds left and Utah opted not to foul up three either.
But Utah’s Jacob Patrick blocked Hennig’s last-second 30-footer as time expired to secure the win.
Whiting led Weber State with 15 points, scoring the team’s first seven of the game. Hennig and Malek Gomma each scored 14 points, with Hennig adding seven rebounds and Gomma six. Saine added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Viljami Vartiainen added 10 points.
WSU shot 17 of 28 from the foul line.
Dawes’ putback dunk gave him 11 points, Utah’s only double-digit scorer to complement Brown and McHenry; the center added 14 rebounds.
Suarez, who did not start after sitting out the season opener with an ankle tweak, provided a do-it-all spark for the Wildcats, especially with three first-half steals. He finished with five points, 11 rebounds and those three thefts, and was a team-high plus-10 in just 18 minutes.
Weber State (1-1) ran Utah (2-0) ragged in the first half with pace and offensive rebounds (totaling 17 offensive boards for the game). When Gomma slammed in a putback dunk and Trevor Hennig dropped in a transition layup for a 15-0 run, the Wildcats led 26-15 with 9 minutes left in the first half.
The Utes soon answered with a 14-4 rally capped with a Sanders 3 to tie it 37-37 with 4:15 left in the first half. But Vartiainen and Gomma each had rebound baskets, Suarez took a steal for a layup and Whiting had a buzzer-beating runner goaltended on the baseline to send WSU into the locker room ahead 49-42.
Utah shot just 9 of 32 from distance but had a few more timely makes than WSU, who finished 6 of 20 after opening 3 of 5.
Weber State regroups for a road game at Utah State on Wednesday while Utah remains at home with a parade of four more mid-major opponents coming to SLC, beginning Monday with Holy Cross.
