Utah runs away from rival BYU 83-75

During Wednesday night’s game against Utah, Emery wound up and knocked Brandon Taylor down with a blindside hook. Sophomore stud Jakob Poeltl went for 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Kyle Collinsworth led BYU with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Kyle Davis chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Loveridge put in 12 points of his own, while Brandon Taylor had 11. He’s combined for 77 points, 35 rebounds and 12 blocks in the last three games. The Utes shot 45 percent from the field, compared to 42 percent for the Cougars, while BYU was outrebounded for the first time this season 42-36.

The Cougars looked like a completely different team in the second half but despite their efforts they never recovered from the 23-point first-half deficit. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and on Cougar IMG Sports Network, KSL 1160 AM /102.7 FM and BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143.

The Utes dominated the first half from the opening tip. BYU’s Chase Fischer had a season-high 26 points.

“We knew that rebounding would be a huge key in the game, and they out-rebounded us, and they ended up outscoring us nearly the same way”, BYU coach Dave Rose said. Utah’s ball movement was gone, they stopped feeding Poeltl in the post, fell in love with the three, and they couldn’t seem to get a stop, and the come back was on.

The Cougars gave up several easy 3-pointers in the first half because they got tangled down low and no one could get outside to contest the shots. About midway through the first, Utah was up by 17 points as the Cougars continued to struggle in the paint.

Emery wound up and punched Taylor in the chest underneath the basket.

BYU plays Weber State on a neutral court in Salt Lake City on Saturday. He also apologized to Utah, coach Larry Krystkowiak, his teammates and fans of both schools and promised to “do better in representing myself, the team and BYU”.

BYU was able to cut the lead to single-digits in the second half, but the Cougars had no answer for Poeltl.

As for the rest of the game, it was Utah’s from start to finish; BYU closed on the margin late, but this was all Utes all night.