Second Half Surge Not Enough as Runnin' Utes Fall to Buffaloes

Tuesday, March 3

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

10-20,2-15Big 12

Colorado

17-13,7-10Big 12

Team	1	2	F
Colorado	51	41	92
Utah	25	53	78

Utah men's basketball vs. Colorado Buffaloes at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026.

Photo by: Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics

Second Half Surge Not Enough as Runnin' Utes Fall to Buffaloes

3/3/2026 10:29 PM | Men's Basketball

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Despite outscoring its opponent 53-41 in the second period, Utah couldn’t overcome its first half deficit in the 92-78 loss to Colorado.

By: Austin Eames

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball program fell to the Colorado Buffaloes, 92-78, Tuesday night inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Utah (10-20, 2-15 Big 12) overcame an early 6-2 deficit with an impressive sequence from Terrence Brown, who tied the game (6-6) at 17:40 by jumping a Colorado pass and converting the turnover into a transition dunk.

Brown continued to pour on the scoring as the period progressed, leading the Runnin' Utes at halftime with 9 points. Despite the effort from Utah's prolific junior guard, the Buffaloes controlled the court for the majority of the period, shooting an impressive 66.7 percent from the field (22-of-33) and 63.6 percent from three (7-of-11).

Due to its opponent's efficient shooting, Utah saw itself down 51-25 to Colorado (17-13, 7-10 Big 12) heading into halftime.

It truly was a tale of two halves as the Utes came out of the break looking like a completely new team—turning a once-26-point deficit into a 63-52 game (with 10:52 to go) after a 6:16 sequence wherein Utah outscored the Buffs 19-4.

After its strong start to the second period, Utah continued to press, getting within single digits (69-60) on a three-point play from Don McHenry at the 8:58 mark.

All in all, the Utes shot a 73.9 percent shooting clip in the second half (17-of-23), outscoring Colorado 53-41 in the period. Utah also shot 85.7 percent from three (6-of-7) in the second stanza, good enough for the best beyond-the-arc shooting half of the season.

Despite the renewed second-half effort, Utah was eventually unable to overcome the Buffaloes' large first-half advantage, falling 92-78 in the final home contest of the 2025-26 season.

Brown led the Runnin' Utes with a game-high 26 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal. McHenry rounded out Utah's double-figure scoring tandem with 19 points—15 of which came in the second half alone—4 assists, 1 rebound, and a steal.

With the loss, Utah is now locked in at the No. 16-seed for the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, March 10. Mike Monaco and Miles Simon will have the call on ESPN+ starting at 1 p.m. (MST) / 2 p.m. (CST) inside T-Mobile Center as the Runnin' Utes take on the No. 9-seed in the second game of the first session to open the tournament.

BY THE NUMBERS

The .857 shooting clip from 3-point range (6-of-7) in the second frame ranks fourth-best in program history in a single-game
Utah lost only one turnover in the second half
With a combined 45 points, the game against Colorado marks the 13^th time this season Don McHenry and Terrence Brown combined for 40-plus points

UP NEXT
The men's basketball team will conclude the 2025-26 regular season on Saturday, March 7, when it travels to Waco, Texas, to take on the Baylor Bears at Foster Pavilion beginning at 3 p.m. (MST) on Peacock.

TICKET DEALS
Fans interested in buy tickets to the final three remaining home games can do so by going online at UtahTickets.com or by phone at 801-581-UTIX (8849).

For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on Facebook, X and Instagram. Fans can also stay connected on their mobile devices or tablets with the Utah 360 app.

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