BYU basketball: Cougs a tad short — BYU suffers narrow loss in semifinal showdown

LAS VEGAS — Every inch, every possession, every rebound and every free throw are crucial in tournament basketball games.

In San Diego State's 64-62 win Friday night over BYU in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Cougars came up just a tad short in the score by coming up a tad short in every one of those categories on key possessions.

"I think you've just got to give them credit," BYU coach Dave Rose said of the Aztecs. "They played really well and were able to beat us at the end."

With only eight turnovers, the Cougars did a pretty good job of taking care of the ball. However, they coughed it up three times in the final six minutes on possessions where they had a chance to tie or pass the Aztecs.

The Cougars hit 15-of-23 free throws, but three of those misses came in the final 4:45 — again on key possessions when only a point or two separated the two teams.

San Diego State outrebounded BYU 39-32, and had only a one-rebound edge on the offensive glass. However, the Aztecs had 20 second-chance points to 10 for BYU, and they ended up with the final rebound that BYU desperately needed in the final seconds.

And the inch? Well, apparently, Jimmer Fredette's toes are just too long — which cost the Cougars a shot at tying the game in the waning seconds.

"The bottom line was we had a lot of chances to win, and San Diego State made a couple more plays and were able to pull out the win," Rose said.

Even though BYU came out on the short end of the battle, the entire game was fairly close all the way. After and up-and-down first half for both teams, the Aztecs went into halftime leading 31-28 thanks to a 9-0 run midway through the half that included BYU's second technical foul of the season when Jackson Emery slapped the floor after he was called for a blocking foul. The Aztecs stretched that lead to 38-30 with a 7-2 run to start the second half.

But when James Anderson took a feed from Fredette and dropped it in with 12:50 remaining, the game was knotted 42-42. With just under eight minutes left, Fredette drilled a 3-pointer to put BYU ahead 52-49. On three straight possessions, however, the Aztecs scored on two put-back baskets and a steal and subsequent three-point play.

Even though center Chris Miles made 1-of-2 free throws on three separate trips to the line, the Cougars still went back in front 57-56 with 2:30 left on a 3-pointer from Emery.

The Aztecs, as they did many times in the game, responded quickly when Lorenzo Wade tossed in a 3-pointer only 25 seconds later to put San Diego State back on top for good.