In a thrilling finish at the Huntsman Center, Utah found themselves down by three with just 13.1 seconds on the clock. Don McHenry stepped up for a corner three, drawing a foul from his UCF defender.
The pressure was on as McHenry approached the free-throw line, and he coolly sank the first two shots. UCF’s head coach, Johnny Dawkins, wisely called a timeout to regroup his team before McHenry's third attempt.
Dawkins explained, "We needed to settle our guys down. The game was a rollercoaster, and we had to make sure everyone was on the same page."
Returning from the timeout, McHenry showed nerves of steel, sinking the third free throw to level the score. Despite UCF's attempts to rattle him, McHenry remained unfazed.
As the clock ticked down, Utah's Seydou Traore tried to foul Themus Fulks before he could shoot. The timing was off, though, and the whistle blew as Fulks appeared to be in the act of shooting, a call that drew loud boos from the Utah faithful. Fulks capitalized, hitting both free throws to put UCF ahead.
Utah had one last chance, but Terrence Brown’s long attempt missed, sealing a 73-71 victory for UCF. Brown, who led Utah with 21 points, couldn't quite deliver the game-winner.
Utah's head coach, Alex Jensen, took responsibility for the late-game strategy. "We wanted to foul earlier," Jensen admitted. "I feel for Seydou; we put him in a tough spot."
Beyond the final moments, turnovers were a thorn in Utah's side, with UCF scoring 18 points off 11 Utah miscues. While the turnover count wasn't astronomical, several were unforced errors that UCF turned into easy points.
Despite the loss, the Runnin' Utes showed improvement against a potential NCAA Tournament team, but the sting of a near-win was palpable.
"It hurts to lose a game you know you could win," McHenry reflected. "We were right there."
Jensen echoed the sentiment, expressing frustration with moral victories. "It's tough because I believe we're better than our record shows," he said.
McHenry ended the night with 19 points, including a clutch three-pointer to tie the game earlier. Keanu Dawes also impressed with a double-double, tallying 15 points and 12 rebounds.
For UCF, Themus Fulks led the charge with 24 points, while Jordan Burks added 14 points and four rebounds. Despite missing their top scorer, Riley Kugel, the Knights found a way to pull off the road win.