Utah Finishes the Fight, Seydou Traore’s Clutch Play Seals Victory Over West Virginia
Feb 18, 2026, 9:23 PM | Updated: 11:23 pm
Feb 18, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Utah Utes forward Seydou Traore (0) shoots a three pointer over West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jasper Floyd (1) during the first half at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — After defeating West Virginia 61-56, Alex Jensen and the Runnin’ Utes walked off the court at Hope Coliseum with the first road victory in conference play this season, and the first road win in 399 days.
In Utah’s triumph over West Virginia, it was about fight, it was guts, and when the final seconds ticked away, it was Seydou Traore making the plays that mattered most.
Got it done!! pic.twitter.com/BAcdgvx8Pt
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 19, 2026
Utah had been searching for a signature road result in league play all season, and after a brutal stretch of losses — including a late defeat at Cincinnati just days earlier — the Utes snapped through at a time when confidence was fragile and tolerance for mistakes was slim.
The Utes jumped out the gates and took control of the game early, weathered a second-half surge from the Mountaineers, and made the plays they needed in crunch time to secure the road win.
Utah’s Wire-to-Wire Control
The Utes opened on a 9–0 run built on clean execution and early defensive pressure. Keanu Dawes scored the first bucket of the night. Don McHenry knocked down a three. Terrence Brown attacked the rim in transition. And Seydou Traore set the tone with a confident mid-range jumper and active hands that immediately disrupted West Virginia’s rhythm.
By halftime, Utah led 31–21, holding the Mountaineers to just 7-of-23 shooting and 2-of-12 from three. The defensive discipline was real. Utah ran shooters off the line, closed under control, and forced West Virginia into contested looks late in the shot clock. For a team that has struggled to string together defensive consistency on the road, the first 20 minutes were sharp and intentional.
Utah’s spacing and ball movement created the cushion. McHenry worked off the ball. Brown controlled the glass. The Utes built a 15-point lead midway through the second half.
Then the inevitable pushback came.
UTES EARN THE ROAD WIN🛣️
Utah vs. West Virginia Highlights⬇️#Big12MBB | @UtahMBB pic.twitter.com/5WFX9qsvPN
— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) February 19, 2026
When It Got Tight
West Virginia shot 52% in the second half and turned the game into a grind. They attacked the paint relentlessly, finishing with 32 points inside to Utah’s 22. Second-chance opportunities increased. Physicality ramped up. The building woke up.
A 15-point Utah lead slowly shrank. A dunk here. A transition layup there. A couple of second-half threes from Honor Huff.
At the 3:59 mark, Treysen Eaglestaff converted a layup to cut the deficit to 53–51. It was a two-point game. The crowd was on its feet. Momentum had shifted hard.
This is the moment that has haunted Utah on the road all season. This time, they responded.
BIG WIN for Coach Jensen and the Utes!!! Love to see it!! @UtahMBB
— Morgan Scalley (@RSNBUtes) February 19, 2026
Seydou Traore’s Closing Sequence
The much maligned forward was the key to Utah’s win tonight.
Traore’s final stat line — 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, +10 in 34 minutes — tells part of the story. The final six minutes tell the rest.
Earlier in the half, Traore opened the period with a three to stretch the lead back to 13. At 14:35, he calmly knocked down free throws when West Virginia had cut the margin and was building momentum. At 10:25, he salvaged a bad possession with a dunk to quiet the crowd a little.
With West Virginia threatening, Traore made the defensive plays that had been missing from Utah’s games earlier in the year:
6:12 — Traore closes hard on Honor Huff, blocks a three-point attempt clean, and immediately secures the defensive rebound. One possession erased.
1:05 — He jumps a passing lane in the paint, rips the ball away for a steal, and forces WVU to foul. In a two-point game, that’s a backbreaker.
0:13 — West Virginia, down three, runs Huff off a screen for a potential tying three. Traore tracks him step-for-step and blocks the shot again.
Two blocks on the same shooter in crunch time. One timely steal. All in a six-minute stretch that defined the outcome.
He scored when Utah needed it. He defended when Utah had to have it. He closed when the game demanded it. It wasn’t perfect, but it was perhaps Traore’s most complete performance of the season.
The Supporting Cast
McHenry delivered 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, hitting timely shots when the offense stalled. Terrence Brown added 14 points and 8 rebounds, controlling tempo and battling on the glass. Brown’s late free throws pushed the margin back to two possessions and sealed it.
Utah shot 12-of-17 from the line overall and 8-of-10 in the second half — a small detail that mattered in a five-point game.
West Virginia actually shot a slightly higher percentage overall (42% to Utah’s 40.4%), and the Mountaineers won the paint battle. But Utah owned the first half defensively, limited West Virginia to 22.7% from three, and made just enough late-game plays to survive.
It wasn’t clean. Utah committed 12 turnovers and allowed the game to get really uncomfortable.
But they never trailed. Not for a second. And made the gritty plays they needed to leave with a win.
The Bottom Line
Utah walked out of Morgantown with a 61–56 win in a game they led for over 39 minutes. It wasn’t pretty, in fact it was downright ugly. The second-half defensive slippage definitely needs to be to cleaned up. The offense stalled for far too many stretches.
But for Utah fans that have been following this team all season, this a breakthrough performance. This team has failed to make games ugly and failed to make plays, particularly on defense, in crunch time.
Utah accomplished both tonight, and genuinely earned the road win. All season long, it’s been Brown, McHenry, or Dawes.
But when the pressure peaked tonight, Seydou Traore proved resilient and made the gritty plays Utah needed.
