No. 9 BYU holds off Utah to pick up 12th straight win
Richie Saunders recorded 24 points and a season-high 14 rebounds to help No. 9 BYU post an 89-84 victory over Utah in Big 12 play on Saturday night at Salt Lake City.
Robert Wright III added 23 points and six assists while AJ Dybantsa had 20 points for the Cougars (15-1, 3-0), who won their 12th consecutive game.
Terrence Brown scored 25 points and Don McHenry added 21 for the Utes (8-8, 0-3), who suffered their fourth straight loss. James Okonkwo collected 13 rebounds for Utah.
The Utes were down seven before Kendyl Sanders drained a 3-pointer and Keanu Dawes added a layup to pull the squad within 80-78 with 3:52 remaining.
Utah was within one after two free throws by Brown with 3:15 left. A pair of free throws and a basket by Wright gave BYU an 85-80 lead with 1:49 to play.
Brown later converted a layup to pull Utah within 87-84 with 46.8 seconds left.
But when the Utes had a chance to tie, Brown slipped while double-teamed and turned the ball over with 8.1 seconds left.
Saunders then hit two free throws to give the Cougars a five-point cushion as they avenged last season's loss to the Utes in Salt Lake City.
The Cougars shot 50.0% from the field, but were a shaky 6 of 26 from 3-point range. BYU held a 41-33 rebounding advantage.
Utah made 46.2% of its shots and was just 6 of 22 from behind the arc.
The Cougars opened the second half with a 12-2 burst to open up a 57-45 advantage. Saunders scored six points during the spurt.
BYU later held a 69-56 lead on Dybantsa's jumper with 10:44 remaining before the Utes made a charge.
McHenry's three-point play capped a 12-4 run as Utah moved within 73-68 with 8:03 left.
Brown's jumper cut the deficit to four and Seydou Traore split two free throws as the Utes crept within 76-73 with 5:32 remaining.
A putback by Saunders and Wright's layup gave BYU an 80-73 advantage with 4:39 left.
Wright scored 15 points in the first half to help BYU hold a 45-43 halftime lead. Brown had 13 points in the half for the Utes.
Wright connected on a 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 run and give the Cougars a 29-24 lead with 7:16 remaining.
The score was tied at 43 when Dybantsa was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 0.3 seconds left. He made two of three free throws to give the Cougars the two-point halftime edge.