Key Highlights
- 13 BYU at the Marriott Center on Saturday afternoon. Following Terrence Brown’s fourth 3 of the game, the Runnin’ Utes trailed 55-53 with 15:09 remaining and had found ways to counter every BYU attack. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut one of those unfortunate lulls that Utah is prone to came next, as the Cougars followed that 3 up with a decisive 14-3 run to finally create some separation against their rivals. With fab freshman AJ Dybantsa playing at another level, BYU rolled to a 91-78 victory over Utah, the Cougars’ third straight win in the series and fifth in a row in Provo. Dybantsa ended the night with a career-high 43 points, while also breaking a Cougar freshman single-game scoring record previously held by Danny Ainge.“He’s a generational talent, and he showed what he’s capable of tonight,” Utah first-year coach Alex Jensen said of Dybantsa.
- “There’s no telling how good he could get.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementConversely, Jensen admitted this was the first time he felt his team gave up down the stretch, when BYU pushed its lead as high as 21 points.“It was the first time this year I thought our guys quit at the end,” he said.
- “They felt defeated, which is kind of disheartening, because I think we’ve always done a good job if we kept fighting and playing.“For whatever reason, I think they kind of quit tonight.”It spoiled a night in which Utah shot 13 of 21 from 3-point range, or 61.9%.
- Keanu Dawes, who scored a team-high 23 points and added six rebounds and an assist one game after an uncharacteristic scoreless night, hit four 3-pointers for the Utes. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSo, too, did Brown.
- He ended up with 22 points, four assists and a rebound, while Don McHenry added 16 points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds.“Since I got here in the summer, I’ve tried to encourage all of them to (have) the confidence to shoot.