Utah beats BYU in OT 102-95; 1st win over Cougars since 2015
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Rylan Jones found redemption Wednesday night as Utah defeated rival BYU 102-95 in overtime to claim its first victory over the Cougars since 2015.
With Utah down by one with 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Jones missed a layup that could have put the Utes ahead, but after Alex Barcello made two free throws Jones tied the game with a 3-pointer to force overtime.
“I felt bad for Rylan at the end of the game,” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “He missed that layup, then he came right back and hit a big shot.”
Utah outscored BYU 16-9 in the extra period, led by eight points from Jones, who was a perfect 2-for-2 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Jones finished with 25 points, six assists and three rebounds. Timmy Allen added 27 points, five rebounds and five assists and Mikael Jantunen contributed 18 points.
“I was pretty mad (about the missed layup) for about 10 seconds and then Timmy told me, ‘Keep your head up, just worry about the next play,’” Jones said.
In his first game back from a nine-game suspension, Yoeli Childs scored 29 points and had seven rebounds for BYU but limped off the floor with 4:48 left in the second half and didn’t return.
“We had a tough time in transition in the second half,” BYU coach Mark Pope said. “We had a tough time guarding the free throw line in the second half. The switching turned out to be really problematic for us.”
Following a Jake Toolson 3-pointer to put BYU up 74-65 with eight minutes left in regulation the Utes went on a 10-2 run led by Jantunen and Riley Battin. Battin made two three throws to cut the lead to one with just over five minutes left.
Childs sparked BYU in the first half, tying a career high for points in a half by scoring 18 on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and a perfected 3-of-3 from the 3-point line.
Childs had 13 points as BYU raced to a 25-12 lead nine minutes into the game, including a run of seven straight points.
Utah answered with a 16-7 run of its own, but BYU extended its lead to 62-48 in the second period — thanks to 11 straight points from Childs.
UP NEXT
BYU: The Cougars begin a six-game homestand when they host Nevada on Tuesday.
Utah: The Utes wrap up their three-game homestand as they host Central Arkansas on Saturday.
