BYU out of sync and out of luck in defeat on hill

BYU entered Wednesday night's game against Utah hoping to snap its 11-game losing streak at the Huntsman Center.

Instead, the Cougars watched their season-high four-game winning streak end and their losing skid at Utah extend to 12 games after a 79-60 setback to the Utes.

Little went right for BYU, which shot 30 percent from the field, compared to 52 percent for Utah. Cougar coach Dave Rose credited the Utes' aggressive defense.

"They sped us up. We were in a hurry offensively," Rose said. "We took quick shots not at our pace. We didn't get the ball into the post as much as we would have liked. Our execution wasn't good tonight. We were impatient and it got us out of what we're good at."

"They took us out of what we like to do and we got passive," said center Trent Plaisted. "It's not like our team to get passive like that."

Only five Cougars scored — Brock Reichner (21 points), Keena Young (14 points), Plaisted (12 points), Rashaun Broadus (eight points) and Jimmy Balderson (five points).

Reichner almost single-handedly kept BYU's hopes alive for a comeback in the second half, knocking down four 3-pointers. For the game, he hit 6 of 8 3-pointers.

On the other hand, the Cougar point guards, Broadus and Austin Ainge, combined to shoot a miserable 2-for-17 from the floor.

BYU seized the lead early on, going up 11-5 with 15:49 left in the first half.

Perhaps the turning point of the game came with 13:32 remaining, when BYU owned an 11-9 advantage.

Reichner attempted a 3-pointer and was fouled as the shot clock expired and play stopped as the officials conferred for several minutes trying to determine if Reichner got the shot off before the horn sounded. The officials ruled in favor of the Utes and play resumed.

But the game was never the same again. Utah went on a 28-8 run to take control of the contest. BYU trailed at halftime, 39-24.

"We were out of sync in the first half and they got us out of our rhythm," Balderson said. "They pressured us a lot."

The score was tied, 15-15, before the Cougars finished the half shooting 3-for-17 from the floor while the Utes went 9-for-14 from the field during the same stretch.

The Cougars battled back in the second half, cutting the deficit to nine points a couple of times with under nine minutes remaining, but the Utes eventually built their lead back up again.

"Give our guys credit. They fought to the end," Rose said. "We got a couple of steals late and we still had an opportunity but it wasn't meant to be tonight."

"We fought hard," Reichner said, "but it didn't happen."

BYU hasn't beaten Utah at the Huntsman Center since Jan. 8, 1994.

Now, the Cougars need to put the loss behind them as they prepare for second-place UNLV Saturday night (6 p.m.) at the Marriott Center.

---

E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com