BYU basketball: Lobos beat Cougars in big MWC showdown

PROVO — For most of this season, the BYU Cougars have had their destiny in their own hands as they've pushed toward a fourth-straight Mountain West Conference regular-season title.

However, after losing 83-81 Saturday in a down-to-the-wire battle to No. 10 New Mexico in front of a sellout Marriott Center crowd, the No. 13 Cougars now need a little help to accomplish that goal.

With the victory, the Lobos are 13-2 in league play and have clinched at least a share of the MWC crown. For the Cougars (now 11-3) to catch New Mexico, the Lobos would have to lose at home on Wednesday to TCU while BYU would need to beat both Utah and TCU on the road next week.

"We had our chances. We had plenty of chances. It just didn't go our way," BYU coach Dave Rose said.

It went New Mexico's way instead thanks mainly to some clutch plays on both ends of the floor in the final minute. One was a put-back basket by center A.J. Hardeman with 38 seconds remaining that broke an 80-80 tie and put the Lobos up for good. Another was a block by Darrington Hobson above the rim with two seconds left on a shot that could have tied the game by BYU's Noah Hartsock.

"Both teams battled, but my boys found ways to win," New Mexico coach Steve Alford said. "We were very confident when it came down to the two-minute mark. We did a good job of stopping them on defense."

The Cougars, who struggled to keep the Lobos out of the paint and off the glass in the first half, trailed by eight at the break. New Mexico, by shooting 54 percent in the opening 20 minutes, controlled the tempo and quieted the crowd.

"(New Mexico's lead) was from their ability to drive the ball wherever they wanted to," Rose said. "But I thought that in the second half we did a much better job of putting up resistance defensively."

After Dairese Gary opened the second half with a driving layup, which put the Lobos up 45-35, the Cougars finally clamped down and turned up the tempo. The momentum change coincided with reserve point guard Michael Loyd Jr. coming into the game to spell an ill Jimmer Fredette.

"The second half we came out and played as a team. We really started to battle," Loyd said.

The sophomore from Las Vegas hit 8 of 9 shots and scored a career-high 19 points — all in the second half.

"We've seen that before from Mike on quite a few occasions, but I was glad he was there today when we really needed him. We just needed to make another play or two," Rose said.

Fredette, suffering from some sort of a stomach ailment, played 15 minutes in the first half and scored six points on 3-of-7 shooting. But Rose noticed his star point guard was struggling, so he sat the likely MWC player of the year for the final 19 minutes.