Cougars' Second-Half Surge Falls Short Against Utes in Salt Lake City
The Brigham Young University Cougars, ranked 14th, faced a challenging contest against the Utah Utes at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Cougars' record now stands at 69-73 after a hard-fought game where they couldn't quite close the gap, despite outscoring their opponents in the second half.
The BYU Cougars entered halftime trailing with 31 points to Utah's 45 but managed to rally back with an impressive 38 points in the second half. However, this surge was not enough to overcome the home team's lead. The Utes finished with a total of 73 points, edging out BYU by just four points.
BYU showcased resilience on both ends of the court throughout the game. They dominated inside, scoring 38 points in paint and securing an impressive total of 42 rebounds—21 defensive and a notable contribution of offensive rebounds at 15. Their effort on second-chance opportunities was particularly strong as they racked up 20 second-chance points.
On defense, BYU managed to force turnovers effectively with six steals and capitalized by scoring 20 points off those turnovers. Despite these efforts, their shooting percentages were lower than usual; they shot only 37 percent from field goals and struggled from beyond the arc with a three-point percentage of just 23.
Utah's performance was anchored by efficient shooting; they boasted a field goal percentage of nearly half at 49 percent and were particularly effective from two-point range where they shot an impressive rate of approximately two-thirds success rate or precisely speaking -64 percent-. Their free throw performance also eclipsed that of BYU as they made good on roughly seven out ten attempts or more accurately -69 percent-.
Looking ahead for BYU fans, their next opportunity to support their team will be when Brigham Young University hosts Denver Pioneers at Marriott Center in Provo. This encounter is scheduled for December13th at7:00 PM Mountain Time and can be watched live on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to tune in as BYU looks to bounce back from this narrow defeat.