PROVO -- In his first game against in-state rival Utah, Rashaun Broadus scored a team-high 17 points, including a deep three-pointer with one minute left in the game and the shot clock at zero, to lead BYU to a thrilling 72-60 victory over Utah in front of a loud Marriott Center crowd.
"I was so excited about the game, I could barely sleep last night," Broadus said. "The crowd was awesome today."
Broadus added three assists and six rebounds while helping the Cougars control the tempo. BYU Coach Dave Rose said Broadus set the pace for the Cougars.
"Rashaun was really big for us today," Rose said. "He got off to a great start and gave us energy early on."
BYU improved to 9-4 (1-1 MWC) with the victory while the Utes dropped to 8-5 (1-1 MWC). The win was the Cougars' first against the Utes since the 2003-2004 season.
BYU started slow, hitting only two of its first eight shots in the first four minutes. Broadus was the bright spot early for the Cougars, scoring six early points and making three of his first four shots. Utah only made two of its first six. Jimmy Balderson's three-point play gave BYU an 11-9 lead with 13:39 remaining in the first half.
The two teams played back and forth with the Cougars holding onto a one-point lead midway through the first half. Johnnie Bryant scored five consecutive points, leading the Utes on a 5-0 run and giving them a 20-18 lead with 7:50 left in the first period.
The Cougars countered with an 11-4 run of their own, including a stretch of seven consecutive points. The run helped BYU regain the lead at 32-28 with 2:30 remaining in the half. Overall, the Cougars finished the half on a 16-6 run to take a 34-30 lead into the break.
The second half started much the same way the first ended, with BYU running. The Cougars got an early 11-4 run in the first four minutes to go up 45-36 and force a Utah timeout. Two minutes later, Mike Rose drained a three-pointer to give BYU a 10-point lead.
Shaun Green hit threes on consecutive trips for the Utes to cut the lead to six points. Utah used the three-ball to stay in the game, hitting five of its first six treys in the second period. BYU kept the tempo up, bouncing back to open a game-high 11-point lead. But Utah battled back again as Bryant hit a three to cut BYU's lead to 63-58 with under five minutes to play in the game.
But BYU's tempo was too much, and it showed as the Cougars ran away at the end of the game. BYU never trailed in the second half.
"In the first half we got a lot of stops defensively and were able to push the ball and force the action," Rose said. "I think that made Utah tired, and it paid off for us in the second half."
As time wound down, BYU maintained its double-digit lead. Broadus hit the late three to put the finishing touches on the victory.
Trent Plaisted added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds while limiting Utah big man Luke Nevill to only two points in the second half.
"It feels good to beat Utah," Rose concluded.
The Cougars will try to get their first MWC road victory when they head to Las Vegas to take on UNLV Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (PST).
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Utah Utes vs BYU Cougars
1-7-05 1:05 p.m. at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Utah Utes 8-5, 1-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
20 MARKSON, Bryant..... f 1-7 0-1 2-4 2 3 5 2 4 2 1 0 0 33
30 JACKSON, Chris...... c 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 3 2 0 3 0 0 10
01 BRYANT, Johnnie..... g 9-17 4-8 1-1 0 0 0 1 23 1 4 0 1 36
02 BORHA, Lawrence..... g 2-7 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 4 2 1 0 0 18
03 GRANT, Chris........ g 1-1 1-1 1-2 1 2 3 3 4 5 2 0 0 25
21 GREEN, Shaun........ 2-4 2-4 0-0 2 3 5 4 6 2 0 0 0 22
32 JOHNS, Ricky........ 1-4 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 18
50 NEVILL, Luke........ 5-12 0-0 4-7 2 7 9 4 14 2 2 3 0 30
51 LANGVAD, Jonas...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 8
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 22-54 8-16 8-14 8 26 34 17 60 17 13 3 1 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-29 37.9% 2nd Half: 11-25 44.0% Game: 40.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 50.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-7 71.4% 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% Game: 57.1% 4
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 9-4, 1-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
15 MALAMAN, Fernando... f 4-6 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 3 8 0 1 0 0 20
30 CUMMARD, Lee........ f 2-7 1-5 1-1 0 3 3 3 6 2 0 0 2 17
44 PLAISTED, Trent..... c 4-12 0-0 4-5 0 7 7 4 12 2 0 1 0 25
01 BROADUS, Rashaun.... g 8-13 1-3 0-0 1 5 6 1 17 3 4 0 2 36
11 REICHNER, Brock..... g 2-5 1-2 0-0 2 2 4 3 5 3 0 0 2 34
02 ROSE, Mike.......... 2-3 2-3 2-2 0 0 0 0 8 2 0 0 0 15
03 YOUNG, Keena........ 3-6 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 6 1 0 0 0 20
04 EMERY, Jackson...... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
13 AINGE, Austin....... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7
23 BALDERSON, Jimmy.... 2-2 0-0 1-1 2 0 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 9
43 DAWES, Derek........ 0-4 0-0 5-6 1 1 2 0 5 0 2 2 0 15
TEAM................ 2 4 6
Totals.............. 27-60 5-16 13-15 9 26 35 15 72 14 7 3 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-32 40.6% 2nd Half: 14-28 50.0% Game: 45.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-9 11.1% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 31.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 7-8 87.5% 2nd Half: 6-7 85.7% Game: 86.7% 0
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Officials: Randy McCall, John Higgins, Shawn Lehigh
Technical fouls: Utah Utes-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 13142
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Utah Utes..................... 30 30 - 60
BYU Cougars................... 34 38 - 72
Points in the paint-UT 22,BY 24. Points off turnovers-UT 3,BY 12.
2nd chance points-UT 5,BY 14. Fast break points-UT 0,BY 4.
Bench points-UT 23,BY 24. Score tied-4 times. Lead changes-15 times.