Cougars come up short against No. 20 Arizona

BYU drops to 15-7 on the season and 6-5 in its setback to the 20th ranked Wildcats.

Author Halle Taylor
Cougars come up short against No. 20 ArizonaCougars come up short against No. 20 Arizona
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PROVO, Utah – BYU fell to the No. 20 Arizona 85-74 at the Marriott Center on Tuesday night.

"That was a hard fought game," head coach Kevin Young said. "That is a good club. They have great, talented players and Tommy Lloyd is an experienced coach that does a great job."

After taking a 61-60 lead halfway through the second half, BYU was outscored 25-13 over the final 10:33 as they fell to 19-21 all-time against the Wildcats including a 14-5 record in Provo. 

Egor Demin led the Cougars in scoring with 16 points with Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall also reaching double figures with 11 each. Hall also dished out a team-high six assistst with only one turnover. 

The Cougars shot 41.8 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from three and 57.1 percent from the free throw line. The Wildcats’ play was highlighted by 45 rebounds and 19 assists that BYU was unable to match.

First Half
Keba Keita opened the game from inside the paint but Arizona immediately responded with a 5-0 run in 34 seconds. Despite the Wildcats’ momentum, Mawot Mag and Demin connected on 3-pointers to pu the Cougars up 8-5.

After two made free throws courtesy of Trevin Knell, the Cougars were up 10-8 with 16:54 on the clock. Arizona scored 10 straight points despite a Keita block and Saunders steal to retake the lead. 

Dawson Baker and Saunders collectively went on a 9-2 run in just under one minute of play. On BYU’s next possession, Hall nailed a second-chance jumper to put the Cougars back inf front, 23-22.

After three minutes with no points from either side of the field, Denim hit a jumper with 7:22 remaining. After a 4-0 Wildcat run, Knell had a takeaway that resulted in a Mag layup to put BYU in place for a run of their own. On their next possession, Keita helped the Cougars retake the lead with a putback dunk. 

A Saunders 3-pointer would push the lead to 32-29 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half.  Arizona's Caleb Love scored eight of the Wildcats next 12 points as the teams went into halftime tied at 41-all. 

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Second Half
The Cougars scored the first four points of the second half with Demin getting to the rim followed by a fast break layup from Knell. 

With 16:08 on the clock, Arizona went on a 7-0 run to retake the lead, 56-50. The Cougars continued to trail by four with less than 11 minutes remaining in regualtion when BYU went on a 5-0 run to take a 61-60 lead. Baker converted on a contested layup followed by a corner 3-pointer from Kanon Catchings. Like they had done all game, Arizona had an answer scoring seven straight points spearheaded by a 3-pointer from Love. 

Hall scored five straight points for the Cougars to cut the deficit to one, 67-66, but that would be the closet they would get going without a field goal for close to seven minutes. 

Up Next 
BYU travels to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. ET at Fifth Third Arena. Watch the game on ESPN2 or listen to live play-by-play with Greg Wrubell and Mark Durrant on BYU Radio.