Failure to finish strong hurt Cougars again

LEXINGTON, Ky. — BYU's exit in the NCAA first round had a familiar feeling to the loss to UNLV in Las Vegas the week before.

The Cougars played solid, at times impressive. They led almost the entire game, but couldn't finish.

Just like the second half of the MWC tournament championship game loss to UNLV, the Cougars ran into a stretch where they had trouble scoring, and the opponent got its second wind and out-sprinted the Cougars to the finish line.

Xavier mounted its comeback on the Cougars five minutes into the second half when the Musketeers found themselves in the bonus for the remainder of the game. Quick fouls on Cougars Trent Plaisted, Jimmy Balderson and Lee Cummard disrupted BYU's ability to trap Xavier point guard Drew Lavender while defending the post. BYU coach Dave Rose went to a zone defense.

That defensive ploy, which Rose said he hatched out because of foul trouble, ignited the Musketeer comeback.

Before that, BYU held Xavier to just one field goal in the first 5:51 of the second half, allowing the Cougars to take their largest lead of the game to that point at 49-40. During that stretch, however, the key factor in the game emerged even with BYU seemingly in control of the game. The Musketeers went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line during that time.

Xavier's free-throw parade, and BYU's inability to stop a trio of 3-point shots in a 16-3 Xavier run at the 10-minute mark, forced the Cougars to produce critical baskets in the final minute of the game. Austin Ainge and Plaisted ended up missing last-ditch shots inside the key down the wire.

Xavier outscored BYU 23-10 from the free-throw line. All other statistics but final score were about dead even.

The Cougars are now 11-25 all-time in the NCAA tournament and 7-15 in first-round games, having lost in their last five first-round appearances.

Keena Young led the team with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

"I think our guys fought really hard," said Rose. "It was anybody's game to win in the end. They just made more plays than we did.

"I'm proud of our players. I'm proud of this team. I believe that the experiences that these player have had in this past week will be very important as we continue to build this program."

The Cougars will forge ahead into next season without Ainge, Balderson, MWC player of the year Young and shooter Mike Rose, who had a spectacular season as the team's sixth man.

Cummard and Plaisted lead the core of BYU's hopes next year. Freshman of the year Jonathan Tavernari also returns. Center Chris Miles is also expected back from an LDS mission.

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com