KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A slow start doomed No. 17 BYU in its 74-54 loss to No. 2 Houston on Friday evening in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
The Cougars saw themselves down 15-0 in the opening six minutes of the game, as they missed their first nine shots of the contest. In the opening 20 minutes, BYU shot a season-low 20.0 percent from the field while turning the ball over nine times.
Keba Keita scored all of his team-high 14 points in the second half, as the junior recorded his third double-double of the season and fifth of his collegiate career. Five of his 12 rebounds were on the offensive glass, giving him 95 on the season, tied for the fourth-most in a single season in program history.
Dawson Baker scored 11 of BYU’s bench points, as the redshirt junior was 4-of-9 from the field, 2-of-3 from three and made his only free throw attempt. Richie Saunders also reached double figures for the 25th time this season with 10 points.
First Half
Baker opened the scoring with an old-fashioned 3-point play, as the junior was fouled on a pull-up jumper ending Houston’s 15-0 run to start the game.
Trey Stewart connected on the Cougars' first 3-pointer of the game, after they missed their first eight attempts to begin the game. Saunders connected on his first 3-pointer of the game out of the under-12-minute timeout to cut the deficit to 10, 19-9, with 10:56 remaining in the first half.
Saunders cut the lead to single digits with another 3-pointer at the 8:44 mark, making it a nine-point game, 23-14. The junior would convert a pair of free throws before Houston’s Emmanuel Sharp hit a 3-pointer to make it a 10-point game, 26-16, with 6:13 on the clock.
Baker ended a two-minute scoring drought with a turnaround jumper before Houston responded with a 13-2 run over the final 3:29 of the opening half.
Second Half
Keita scored six of BYU’s first eight points of the second half, including a pair of alley-oop dunks to cut the deficit to 17, 45-28, at the first media timeout.
Dallin Hall really said 🫴
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 15, 2025
and then Keba Keita said 💪#Big12MBB | @Phillips66Gas pic.twitter.com/TALNFxmunf
The Cougars continued to get stops on the defensive end as they chipped away at the lead with a putback from Keita followed by a steal and dunk by Saunders to make it a 13-point game, 45-32. Keita blocked Houston’s Mylik Wilson forcing Houston to call a timeout.
With under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Egor Demin spearheaded a 6-0 run for the Cougars to cut the deficit to 16, 60-44. The freshman converted an old-fashioned 3-point play followed by a Baker 3-pointer.
Baker connected on his second 3-pointer in the second half to make it 65-47 with 6:24 remaining in regulation. Keita scored four of BYU’s final seven points of the game, as he reached double figures for the ninth time this season.
Up Next
BYU will learn its postseason fate on Sunday, March 16, during the NCAA Selection Show that will air on CBS beginning at 4 p.m. MT.