Terence Brown scored 27 points and Dom McHenry added 18 to lead Utah to an 85-77 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night.

Seydou Traore added 17 points for the Utes. Brown and Traore combined to knock down nine 3-pointers. Keanu Dawes and James Okonkwo collected 10 rebounds apiece while Dawes chipped in 10 points.

The Utes (5-0) shot 51.8% from the floor and had 17 assists on 29 baskets.

Corey Hadnot II led the Mastodons with 20 points. Mikale Stevenson and DeAndre Craig Jr. put up 15 points apiece, and Craig added a game-high seven assists.

Purdue Fort Wayne (2-4) remains winless against Division I opponents this season despite scoring 16 points off turnovers and outscoring Utah 42-34 in the paint. The Mastodons had lost their previous three contests against Division I teams by an average of 19 points.

The Mastodons rallied from a 16-point deficit to make it a close game in the final two minutes. Utah went nearly six minutes without making a basket, opening a door for Purdue Fort Wayne to rally. The Utes missed six straight shots and committed four turnovers during that stretch.

Maximus Nelson’s 3-pointer helped the Mastodons draw within 74-68 with 1:22 left. Brown, Dawes, and Traore combined to make eight free throws in the final minute to help Utah hold on.

Brown and Traore made three 3-pointers apiece before halftime to give Utah’s offense and early boost. They both shot 60% from 3-point range during the first half.

Four baskets from Brown fueled a 15-4 run that gave the Utes a 23-11 lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Traore helped Utah extend its lead to 40-26 before halftime.

Brown opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers — the second one coming off a steal — to put the Utes up 48-32 less than a minute into the half.

–Field Level Media