Cougars Edge Knights in a Close Contest at Marriott Center

The Brigham Young University Cougars, with a rank of 19, secured a narrow victory over the Knights with a final score of 90-88. The Cougars now boast an impressive record, while the Knights' performance reflected their unranked status despite their valiant effort. The game unfolded at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, where 15,590 fans witnessed an intense matchup.

The BYU Cougars showcased remarkable resilience and strategic play throughout the game. Their offensive efforts were led by precision from the charity stripe where they excelled with an outstanding free throw percentage of 87 percent. This proficiency resulted in 40 points contributed solely from free throws. In contrast to their opponents' higher field goal percentage of 51 percent and more dynamic scoring inside the paint totaling 46 points, the Cougars maintained control through consistent scoring and defensive pressure.

On defense, BYU managed to block two shots and garnered four steals which contributed to nine points off turnovers. Despite being outscored on fast break opportunities by a significant margin—19 points for UCF compared to just four for BYU—the home team's ability to capitalize on chances was evident.

A critical aspect of BYU's gameplay was their rebounding; they outrebounded UCF with a total of 37 rebounds against UCF's 32. Of these rebounds for BYU, there were seven offensive boards that led to six second-chance points—an area where they lagged behind UCF's more robust tally of eighteen second-chance points.

While both teams displayed equal prowess in assists with twelve each, it was clear that ball handling played a pivotal role as well; BYU turned over the ball seventeen times but managed an assist-to-turnover ratio slightly better than one-half (0.71), whereas UCF had nine turnovers and an assist-to-turnover ratio of one-and-a-half (1.5).

The three-point line also told part of this game’s story: The Cougars shot at thirty-five percent from beyond the arc making eight three-pointers while holding UCF to twenty-seven percent shooting from deep.

Looking ahead after this hard-fought win at home court advantage will be put aside as Brigham Young University prepares for its next challenge against Oklahoma State Cowboys at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater on February 17th at noon local time (1:00 PM Eastern). Fans eager not to miss any action can tune into ESPN+ for live coverage as these two teams face off on Oklahoma State’s turf.