BYU men’s basketball wins one in Logan
BYU men’s basketball beat Utah State 67-64 on December 5 in front of a rowdy crowd of 1,600 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. It was Cougars’ ninth straight win over Aggies, and BYU moved 5-1 per season.
“Every time you come to Logan, this is an adventure that transcends adventures and the outcome is always 100% uncertain,” said art director Mark Pope. “What an incredible performance by their team. Thanks to Craig (Smith) that his team can do very well without being in the building, and thanks to Eric he can only pick up the mantle and do well. You have some. Fans in this building, it was like heaven. So cool, it was awesome. “
The Cougars fired 40% from the field and 36.4% from outside the arc. Alex Barcello led the team with 23 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Caleb Lonner scored 11 points, the highest in his career, and scored six rebounds.
BYU got 6-0 early, but Barcello’s triple pointer and Lohner’s first 3 points of the season tied him with six. The Cougars then fell 12-6, reducing the lead to two on layups from Connor Harding and Brandon Avert.
A pair of free throws from Lohner pulled BYU within two on 14-12. Another set of free throws and a hook fired by Colby Lee then made it 19-16, Utah.
Spencer Johnson dropped a pull-up jump, charged, then hit three on the next flight down, giving the Cougars their first match lead at 21-20.
Matt Haarms got a corner kick then scored in 3 indicators, placing BYU 26-22. The crossing of Barcello gave the Cougars a six-point advantage.
Barcello hit another crystal in the paint, making it 30-25, BYU. Averett and Barcello’s three-shot throws gave the Cougars a 35-27 lead.
Barcello’s two free throws pushed BYU up to ten. Harms float over time kept 10 points ahead in the game. The Cougars rose 39-29 after the first 20 minutes.
Nimias Quetta led the Aggies team in the first half with 11 points. Utah hit 38.7% from the field and 20% from three in the half.
Barcello scored 12 team high points on a perfect 4 to 4 shot on the first. Harms scored seven points in the second half. BYU fired 48.3% from the field and 38.5% from the depths.
Aggies opened the game in the 5–0 round before Lohner dropped his second three of the night, making him lead 42-34 Cougar. Utah tied in five again, but Barceló led the length of the field in one throw, making it 46-38, BYU.
Utah took the lead to four before Avrett fell, and the score was 48-42 BYU. Lohner then hit his third hat-trick and the Cougars went ahead 51-44.
Harding followed up with a corner kick to make the score 53-44. Johnson scored in the backdoor throw and Barceló took a coast-to-coast corner to place BYU 11, 57-46.
Aggies went on the 10-0 round, narrowing the lead to one. Richard Harward finished the round, going 1-to-2 from the free throw line, but Utah scored in the next possession tying it to 58.
Barcello’s two free throws then managed to reach 60-58, but the Aggies restricted it to 60 with less than four minutes remaining. One free throw from Haarms gave BYU a 1 point lead.
Harding hit a 3-pointer paw in the corner to break the tie once more, giving the Cougars a 64-61 lead less than a minute ago on the left. Then Aggie’s two free throws made him a one-point game.
Barcello’s single free throw made it 65-63 before Utah went 1-on-2 off the streak and the Cougars rose 65-64. Barcelo then fired two free throws to settle the matter in favor of the Cougars, who won 67-64 after the team failed to score in the last six seconds.
BYU Utah retained 35.6% of the stadium and 15.4% of the three in game. The Aggies had three players who would finish in double figures. Quetta had 18, Marco Anthony was 17, and Rowley Worster had 15.
Harms contributed eight points, two assists and four blocks. Harding and Johnson each finished seven and Afret added six points alone.
The Cougars will return home on Wednesday, December 9th against Boise State. The information will be presented at 7 pm GMT and the game will be broadcast on the BYUtv channel. It will also be broadcast on BYU Sports on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143 and KSL 102.7 FM / 1160 AM.
