PROVO-There was improvement, but the young Runnin’ Utes still couldn’t do enough to come out of Provo with a win Saturday afternoon. The Cougars (9-4, 1-1 MWC) knocked off the Utes (8-5, 1-1 MWC) 72-60, as BYU withstood a strong Utah push at the end to preserve the victory.
Johnnie Bryant notched a career-high 23 points to lead the Utes but wasn’t satisfied with leaving the Marriott Center without a victory.
“It doesn’t matter what I do,” Bryant said. “We didn’t get it done and win tonight. That’s the most important thing.”
BYU held a four-point lead at halftime and stretched the advantage to 10 at 48-38 with 14:38 left in the second half. Thanks to a couple of clutch three-pointers from Bryant, the Utes eventually chipped the deficit to five with 4:47 to play, but could get no closer.
A three-pointer by Cougar guard Rashaun Broadus with 1:20 left sealed the deal, giving BYU a 12-point lead.
It was the first time the Cougars had beaten the Utes in men’s basketball since the 2003-2004 season, a streak of three Utah victories.
“Our effort was what it needed to be for stretches,” Ute head coach Ray Giacoletti said. “We missed two front ends (of one-and-ones) down the stretch and didn’t get some stops when we needed to. Those are things we need to get better at.”
With senior center Chris Jackson stricken with early foul trouble, freshman Luke Nevill saw extended time and responded with 14 points and nine rebounds. He missed some key free throws when the Utes were trying to mount a late comeback, but after the game Giacoletti preferred to focus on the positives of Nevill’s night.
“He’s a freshman playing big minutes in a big basketball game,” Giacoletti said. “He went and got a double-double tonight. We’ll live with that.”
While the Utes continue to struggle on the road, Nevill has thrived away from the Huntsman Center. The young Australian averages 12.4 points on the road, compared with only 7.0 per game in Salt Lake City. Amid chants of “Bogut” from the BYU student section, Nevill stepped up to keep the Utes in the game on Saturday, a role that he relishes.
“I have to boost the team a bit and excel (so the team) stays in the game,” Nevill said. “When it comes to a tough environment, we all step up to the challenge.”
Broadus was the surprise sparkplug for the Cougars, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds on 8-for-13 shooting. The JUCO transfer scored the first six points for the Cougars and came away with two of BYU’s seven steals.
“Rashaun was really big today,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “He got off to a great start and gave us some energy. He’s a good competitor, and he showed it today.”
The Utes and Cougars will meet again next month when BYU visits the Huntsman Center on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.
Next up for Utah is a home game against San Diego State on Wednesday. The Aztecs were picked to win the MWC by the media in the preseason poll but have been inconsistent so far in the non-conference schedule. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.