Te’Jon Lucas scored 18 points Saturday night to lead four players in double figures as No. 18 BYU erased a halftime deficit to post a 75-64 win over host Utah in Salt Lake City.
Alex Barcello added 17 for the Cougars (6-0), going 11 of 12 at the foul line. Gavin Baxter chipped in 14 points and Caleb Lohner contributed a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double. Lohner’s efforts helped BYU control the boards 45-28, including 20-11 in the second half.
Branden Carlson scored 17 points for the Utes (5-1), who suffered their first loss under new coach Craig Smith. Rollie Worster added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Off the bench, Lazar Stefanovic tallied 12 points.
Utah made just 42.1 percent of its field goal attempts, including a miserable 6 of 23 on 3-pointers. It was outscored 48-28 in the paint and forced only seven turnovers.
However, the Utes still led 40-39 after Jaxon Brenchley converted a transition layup with 13:48 left.
At that point, the Cougars took command by ripping off nine unanswered points. Baxter dunked with 11:06 left for a 48-40 lead that forced a Utah timeout and the margin never dipped below six for the game’s remainder.
Utah got out of the blocks quickly, scoring the first seven points. But BYU answered back with six in a row, setting the stage for a first half that was point-counterpoint.
After the Cougars’ run, the Utes gradually pushed the lead back to seven when Minnesota transfer Both Gach canned a 3-pointer at the 13:10 mark for an 18-11 lead. But BYU spent the half’s remainder holding Utah to 11 points and gradually working its way into contention.
The Cougars tied it at 21 on a 3-pointer by Lohner with 7:11 left.
They limited the Utes to four points in just over eight minutes, but they ended up taking the lead to halftime anyway when Stefanovic dunked in transition in the final minute. That made it 29-27 Utah at intermission.
–Field Level Media
