The U men’s basketball team found out last night that sometimes, the holes just get too deep.
Trailing 66-47 with just more than eight minutes to play, the Utes tried time and time again to mount a comeback, but couldn’t muster enough to overcome in-state rival BYU, eventually losing 76-66.
“It should have never got to that point where we needed more time to win the ball game,” U guard Ricky Johns said. “We just buried ourselves by not playing defense.”
Despite outscoring the Cougars 19-10 in the final seven minutes, the Utes couldn’t find an answer for BYU forward Keena Young and the Cougars ran away with the win, 76-66.
Young led the Cougars on the night, stymying Ute run after Ute run with his slick post moves on the way to a team-high 21 points.
“Keena Young is a great player and he showed what he’s capable of,” Johns said. “He was the main reason they were able to do what they wanted tonight.”
After countless post moves, the Utah defense started to collapse on Young, who then kicked it out to sharpshooting Cougar guard Jimmy Balderson and forward Jonathan Tavernari to do the deed from the outside.
Tavernari came off the bench to hit three of seven from the three-point line, finishing with 17 points. Balderson ended the game 4-for-7 from the field with 11 points.
Between Young and the outside shooters, the Cougars had a field day at the Huntsman Center, converting 52.6 percent of their shots.
“It’s pretty simple,” U coach Ray Giacoletti said. “If we don’t defend any better, we will never take a step in the right direction. There’s no need for a rah-rah speech, it’s just about effort.”
Meanwhile, the Runnin’ Utes had next to no trouble finding scoring options on offense, despite lackluster games from Shaun Green and Johnnie Bryant.
After a disappointing performance against San Diego State, Utah center Luke Nevill posted a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.
“Luke gave a great effort out there tonight,” Giacoletti said. “We were able to get him the ball quite a bit more than last week and it definitely helped, but it always comes down to defense.”
That defense was seemingly nonexistent at the start of the second half, where the Cougars expanded their seven-point lead to 19 in a matter of minutes.
“They came out really aggressive in the second half,” Johns said. “They got a few transition baskets and a few easy layups and they kept it rollin’. We have to take more pride in our defense if we want to win games.”
Johns was one of the few positives for the Utes on the night, shooting an impressive 7-for-8 from the field to finish with a career-high 18 points.
The Cougars’ win marks the first time since the 1994 season that the Utes have been beaten by their rival in Salt Lake City.
“It’s really disappointing to let them come onto our court and get a win,” Johns said. “But we’ve just got to keep our heads up and go back to work tomorrow.”
The Utes only have a few days to contemplate their latest faux pas, as they return to play this Saturday on the road against TCU.