Facing the Utes in Salt Lake City, the T-birds rallied before falling 88-86 on Tuesday night.
After trailing by seven at halftime (47-40), SUU found themselves in a 17-point hole just under four minutes into the second half.
The T-birds battled back, using a 7-0 spurt to cut the Utah lead to four (63-59) with 11:28 to play.
SUU continued to battle but was unable to draw any closer until the game was out of reach.
A three-pointer from Dominique Ford with nine seconds left made the score 86-83, but the Utes made both free throws on the next possession. Ford nailed another outside shot as time expired, but it was too little too late for the visitors as Utah held on for the 88-86 win.
Keba Keita led the way for the Utes in the win, notching 23 points off the bench. Gabe Madsen chipped in 19, while Rollie Wosrter added 12 points and a career-high 11 assists.
Braden Housley and Dominique Ford tallied 23 points apiece to lead the Thunderbirds, while Parsa Fallah added 20.
Up next
Southern Utah (2-6) returns home looking to snap a three-game slide against former Big Sky foe Idaho State on Saturday, Dec. 9.
The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
Amid a three-game-winning streak, the Utes (6-2) will now host rival and No. 14 BYU on Saturday, Dec. 9.
The game is slated to start at 5 p.m. and can be viewed on the Pac-12 Networks.
