Utah Competed, But AJ Dybantsa’s 43 Powers BYU Past The Runnin’ Utes
Jan 24, 2026, 6:23 PM | Updated: 9:24 pm
Provo, Ut.— In a rivalry game that stayed tense longer than the final score suggests, Utah ran out of steam late in the second half, while the BYU Cougars leaned on a singular, overwhelming force to break it open.
Riding AJ Dybantsa’s relentless shot-making and physical dominance, he scored a career-high and new school record 43 points in a 91–78 win over the Utes.
After a slow start, Utah found answers time and time again through the first 30 minutes. They showed composure in stretches, and fight for the majority of the game — but had no solutions later in the game.
First Half: Utah battled, kept it tight against BYU
The Utes walked into the Marriott Center Friday night knowing margin would be razor thin — and the first half played out exactly that way. After 20 minutes of grinding possessions, Utah trailed BYU Cougars 42–37 at halftime in a game defined more by execution windows than shot-making variance.
Utah held BYU to 47% shooting and just 4-of-10 from three in the half. More importantly, the Utes avoided extended breakdowns early, keeping the game within one or two possessions even while the offense sputtered. That defensive floor is why a slow start didn’t snowball.
Leading Scorers
BYU
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AJ Dybantsa: 43 points (15-of-24 FG, 4-of-5 3FG, 9-of-10 FT).
Controlled the game as a scorer, finisher, and cleanup option. Efficient volume, zero wasted possessions. -
Rob Wright: 21 points. Timely finishes and steady secondary pressure once Utah loaded up on Dybantsa.
Utah
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Terrence Brown: 22 points (4-of-4 from 3-point range, 4-of-4 free throws). Utah’s most reliable offensive option, especially during scoring droughts.
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Don McHenry: 16 points. Carried early creation duties but was limited as BYU tightened coverages. Was limited in the second half.
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Keanu Dawes: 23 points, 6 rebounds. Efficient touches, punished the zone when Utah could generate advantage.
Team Shooting Splits
Utah
- 42.9% FG
- 60.0% from three (12-of-20)
- 100% FT (10-of-10)
BYU
- 54.2% FG
- 44.4% from three
- 82.6% FT
The Paint & Possession Battle (Game-Defining)
Points in the Paint
- BYU: 48
- Utah: 14
Second-Chance Points
- BYU: 19
- Utah: 2
Total Rebounds
- BYU: 39
- Utah: 24
Don McHenry’s scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting stabilized Utah during its best stretches, while Dawes’ scored 11 points and physicality attacking the zone kept the Cougars from fully loading up on the perimeter. When Utah scored with purpose, it flowed through those two.
The closing minutes tilted back toward BYU. The Cougars extended the lead to 40–34 behind Dybantsa’s shot-making and second-chance pressure. Kendyl Sanders buried a left-corner three with 48 seconds left to keep Utah within striking distance but BYU still went into halftime with a five point cushion.
Second Half: Utah ran out of gas, BYU pulled away late
Jensen’s squad started the second half scoring efficiently early and cut the lead to one multiple times.
The problem wasn’t the opening five minutes; it was what Utah didn’t have when BYU adjusted. Once BYU forced Utah into tougher late-clock shots, there was no secondary counter.
Dybantsa decided the game, there’s no schematic way around that. He dictated pace, spacing, and momentum. He scored at the rim, drew fouls, cleaned up misses, and hit daggers when Utah threatened.
Still, Utah continued to battle, trimming the lead to 61-56. But that’s when BYU surged and made it extremely difficult for Utah to regain any sort of real momentum.
BYU’s defense took away driving angles, forced resets, and trusted Dybantsa to win possessions on the other end. The Utes just had no way of really countering.
As BYU’s defense tightened, Utah’s offense stalled, and Jensen’s squad simply ran out of options, perhaps even the will to continue battling.
The Cougars pushed the margin to 78–63, forcing another Jensen timeout. Brown and Sanders hit jumpers to cut the lead to 81–68, but Dybantsa slammed the door — scoring his 41st point to extend the lead to 87–68. He finished with 43 points, which came without forcing the game — the most dangerous version of a star.
After extending the lead to 21 points, Utah scored some garbage time points to end the game 91-78.
