It was another down-to-the-wire finish between No. 14 BYU and Utah Saturday night at the Huntsman Center.
In the end, the Runnin’ Utes held on for a thrilling finish in front of the home crowd with a 73-69 victory.
With the win, Utah improved to 7-2 on the season and also got their first win over a ranked BYU team since 1993. With the loss, the Cougars perfect season comes to an end as BYU drops to 8-1 on the year.
Utah was led by Gabe Madsen as the senior made a game-high five 3-pointers and a team-high 17 points. Branden Carlson added 15 points and 8 rebounds and Keba Keita chipped in with 10 points and 6 rebounds in the win.
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Jaxson Robinson led BYU with 17 points, Richie Saunders had 13 points, Dallin Hall chipped in with 11 points and Trevin Knell and Spencer Johnson each had 10 points a piece. Johnson also had 11 rebounds for his first double-double in his BYU career.
The Cougars had one of their worst shooting performances of the season as they shot just 36.6% from the field, including 23% from beyond the arc (7 of 30).
After trailing by as many as 17 points early in the second half, BYU clawed back with tough defense and attacked the glass for second chance points. Robinson converted a layup off a steal and drained a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run that trimmed Utah’s lead to 61-59 with just 4:38 left in the game. But that’s as close as BYU would get as the Utes held on to upset the Cougars.
Here’s all the reactions from Utah and BYU fans after the game:
— 🔴⚫️⚪️Ron Corkins 🏈 🏀 🎥 (@RonDC27) December 10, 2023
Such a beautiful sight to see the @HuntsmanCenter that full again. Makes me miss the days when this was a regular occurrence. Also, it would be super rad if you all brought back the projection of video on the court for the intros like there was years ago!
— Mike Schmidt (@MrSchmidt22) December 10, 2023
THAT was a great game @UtahMBB! Great to be back at the Huntsman!! #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/NJdljaFeCw
— 🃏🎰UteManJoe🎰🃏 (@UteManJoe) December 10, 2023
They used to. Would love to have it back.
Byu has a great bball environment
— G UTE (@UTEISH) December 10, 2023
Utah beats #14 BYU and St. Mary’s beats #13 Colorado State on the road. What a resume bump for the Utes#GoUtes
— thIccTALIAN UTE (@Italian_Ute) December 10, 2023
What a game! Love these brothers and the good sports they are.
Cougs, your legit.#GoUtes 🙌 pic.twitter.com/60w4KP6ood
— Statue of Whitt 🎰 (@StatueOfWhitt) December 10, 2023
1) Utah hot shooting in first 8 minutes difference in game
2) Not having Fousse was huge w/ Utah size advantage and Khalid’s was gassed
3) Utah did a great job w/ high low action
4) Hall wasn’t good tonight— Birdistheword (@Syacamore) December 10, 2023
B Y Who??? https://t.co/oPnt0Gw4QK
— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) December 10, 2023
No panic in this BYU squad. Love the way they are playing. Tough nights happen, but they are still playing composed and keep hitting back. If they keep it up in the 2nd half, no matter the final score, I will be pleased.#GoCougs 🤙🏼
— Cougar Chaps 🇺🇦 (@chaplainschuman) December 10, 2023
Tonight shows that this BYU squad is for real. In a totally off-shooting night, they were right there at the end. They out-rebounded the tallest team in the country even though Fouss was out and Atiki was in foul trouble. Proud of this team!!!#GoCougs 🤙🏼 https://t.co/JZGKKMMAUD
— Cougar Chaps 🇺🇦 (@chaplainschuman) December 10, 2023
Jaxson Robinson needed that ball.
Great scheme, Utes.
Fun rivalry game.
— Sporty (@SportyMcSports) December 10, 2023
So like us to play our worst game against Utah. Just so frustrating
— OhJoeHenry (@OhJoeHenry) December 10, 2023
You guys, Mark Pope has worked magic this year.
One loss in Basketball does nothing to the longer term goals.
He has us ranked in the same range as the Jimmer years in KenPom even after the loss.
Let’s all take a breath.
— Sporty (@SportyMcSports) December 10, 2023
BYU wins that 9 of 10 times
Congrats on your superbowl, utah
— BIG XII Shane 🤙 (@LiftingCoug) December 10, 2023
Worst shooting game we have had all season and the Utes started out HOT 🤷♂️
— Steven (@m4gbit) December 10, 2023
