CINCINNATI, Ohio — BYU stumbled into a cold shooting second half as it fell to Cincinnati 84-66 at Fifth Third Arena on Saturday night.
"Give Cincinnati credit. Give Wes (Miller) credit. He had his team ready to go," head coach Kevin Young said. "I thought we did a good job of responding to the onslaught to start the game and somehow have the lead at halftime. Credit to our guys but we couldn't sustain it in the second half. Our offense got too stagnant in the second half so that is something we need to look at."
BYU shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and climbed back from multiple nine-point deficits to lead 42-39 at half. The Cougars were unable to rediscover their shot in the second half and saw Cincinnati open the period on a 22-2 run. The Bearcats outshot BYU 50-26 percent from the field in the second half and won the rebounding battle 23-8.
For the game, BYU’s 47-percent shooting was outmatched by the home team’s 59. The Cougars and Bearcats each knocked down 10 triples on the night but Cincinnati did so on 20 attempts while BYU hoisted 29 treys. A 32-17 game rebounding deficit, including 11-3 on on the offensive glass hampered the Cougar comeback effort, as did the Bearcats 16-0 control of second chance scoring.
BYU forced 11 turnovers for the game but with several dead-ball takeaways capitalized for just 12 points to Cincinnati’s 24 points off of 12 Cougar giveaways.
Richie Saunders scored in double figures for the ninth straight game finishing with 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting to lead BYU. Egor Demin scored 12 points while Dawson Baker and Mihailo Boskovic combing for 17 off the bench.
First Half
Both teams got off to hot shooting starts with Cincinnati finishing the half shooting 63-percent from the field to BYU’s 59. The Cougars and Bearcats each headed to the break shooting 50-percent from beyond the arc as well.
BYU opened the game up 9-5 with unselfish ball handling from Knell and Demin. Knell knocked down a triple on the Cougars’ first possession then drove and handed off to Keba Keita for a floater in the paint and 5-0 BYU lead. Moments later Knell dished to Demin who drove and score to retake the lead 7-5. Demin then stole the ball from the Bearcats on the other end and pushed the ball ahead to Saunders who scored in transition for the four-point Cougar advantage.
BYU had to weather the Cincinnati storm as the home team’s hot shooting led to three different nine-point Bearcat leads in the first half.
Down, 22-13 at the half’s 12:23 mark, BYU climbed back into the game with consecutive 3-pointers from Dawson Baker. The Bearcats put together another run and led 31-22 with 8:54 before the break until the Cougars clawed back to a 34-33 lead.
drive. dish. dunk.
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 8, 2025
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/gqoTXRXnpH
Hall started an 8-0 BYU run as he spun in the paint and scored through contact off the glass. Demin then cut the deficit to 31-26 with a driving slam before Keita scored on consecutive possessions. Four free throw makes from Saunders gave BYU its newfound 34-33 edge with three minutes to play in the half.
The Cougars scored on each of their final three possessions of the half on the way to a 42-39 lead at the break. Traore and Saunders each scored in the paint then Demin finished the half on a high note with a 4-point play.
Saunders and Demin led BYU 20 minutes in with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Second Half
Demin continued his strong finish to the first half with a driving one-handed jam at the rim that put BYU up 44-43 minutes into the second period. Outside of Demin’s drive, the Cougars went dry from the field and worsened their comeback case with live-ball turn overs that fed a 22-2 Bearcat run.
OK @whoisegor3 😮💨
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 9, 2025
📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/kjMTjUUASI
Down 61-44 with 12:47 to play, BYU turned to its bench and saw an immediate impact from Trey Stewart and Boskovic.
Stewart calmly took the floor and drained a pull-up 3-pointer while Boskovic scored in the paint on BYU’s next trip down floor. Triples from Baker, Boskovic and Kanon Catchings helped BYU pull within eight at 66-58 with 8:04 to play but the Bearcats engineered a game-sealing 18-8 run for the 84-66 win.
UP NEXT
BYU continues its east coast swing with a Tuesday night matchup at West Virginia on Feb. 11. Watch the Cougars face the Mountaineers on CBS Sports Network at 7 p.m. EST or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio.