Five players scored in double figures to help No. 23 BYU avenge a January loss to Utah with an 85-74 victory in Provo on Saturday night, giving the Cougars an eight-game winning streak heading into next week’s Big 12 Conference tournament.
At 23-8 overall and 14-6 in the conference, the Cougars will be no worse than the fourth seed at the Big 12 tourney. A win or two there could give them a chance at a top-four regional seed, which seemed unlikely when they started their streak last month at West Virginia.
Dawson Baker came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points for BYU, while Richie Saunders added 14 despite foul trouble. Keba Keita netted 12 while Egor Demin stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Mihailo Boskovic contributed 11 points.
Miro Little hit 6 of 8 3-pointers and scored a game-high 21 points off the bench for the Utes (16-15, 8-12), who fell to 1-3 under interim coach Josh Eilert. Ezra Ausar added 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Jake Wahlin contributed 10 points before fouling out. Leading scorer Gabe Madsen made just 3 of 13 3-pointers and tallied just nine points.
The Cougars led by just four points at halftime but took control midway through the second half. Leading 54-49 after Little’s layup with 11:52 left, BYU ripped off 12 straight points for a 66-49 advantage at the 6:46 mark on two foul shots by Mawot Mag. Utah didn’t score for a span of 5:22.
The margin ballooned to 19 down the stretch before the Utes made it more respectable.
The pregame storyline was not just about BYU’s recent roll but Utah’s Thursday hire of former standout player Alex Jensen as head coach, replacing Craig Smith, who was fired last week. The Utes mounted resistance for most of the first half as the Cougars missed their first 12 3-pointers.
But BYU found the range late in the half, getting a 3-pointer from Dallin Hall with a second left to garner a 34-30 lead at halftime.
–Field Level Media
