It took five tries, but Utah finally defeated BYU in men's basketball. The victory, a huge step for the Jim Boylen era, puts the Utes' conference record at 4-2, tied with UNLV for the top spot.
Luke Nevill was the star of Utah's 94-88 overtime victory, as he finished with a career-high 32 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Yet it wasn't almost enough, as the Cougars played a pretty fine game themselves.
That was the storyline that developed out of Utah's victory last night. Both teams gave great performances and the result was an exciting finish and an even more exciting game. It's what everyone would want from a rivalry game, a close game throughout, overtime and having it all end with a Utah victory.
BYU, the unlucky losers in this game, was led by Lee Cummard, who shot lights out on his way to 23 points. Cummard was really the only player for the Cougars who stepped up and kept them in the game. Without his play, this very well could have been a romp for the Utes.
So what does the victory mean? Well prior to the game, I said victory was extremely important and the win was probably the biggest of Jim Boylen's career. Not just because it's BYU, but because they rebounded from a tough loss to the Rebels, are tied for the conference lead and still control their destiny when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament. Losing last night would have killed all of that, so it was a big moment for Boylen and his staff. Does it make the season? Well it'll depend on how Utah follows this game up, but it definitely has them positioned perfectly for at least a decent run down the stretch.
Tuesday's game was the first overtime game between the two schools since BYU won 51-49 in the WAC Tournament back in 1991. It also kept the Cougars from winning their third straight in Salt Lake for the first time in over 40 years. But most importantly, it gave Utah another solid victory to add to its resume. Their RPI right now currently stands at 15th in the nation and that will prove to be huge come March when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.
BRIGHAM YOUNG COUGARS
STARTERS
MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
Lee Cummard, G
41
10-14
3-3
0-0
0
7
3
3
1
1
5
23
Jonathan Tavernari, G-F
39
6-14
2-6
2-2
2
6
0
1
0
2
3
16
Chris Miles, F-C
37
6-10
0-0
2-9
2
6
2
3
0
2
4
14
Jackson Emery, G
37
2-8
1-5
2-2
1
6
3
2
1
1
5
7
Jimmer Fredette, G
37
6-13
2-5
7-8
0
4
10
2
1
3
4
21
BENCH
MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
Charles Abouo, G-F
3
0-1
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Lamont Morgan Jr., G
15
2-3
1-1
0-1
0
1
2
0
0
0
1
5
Archie Rose, G
1
0-1
0-1
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
James Anderson, F-C
7
1-1
0-0
0-0
0
1
0
0
0
0
4
2
Noah Hartsock, F
6
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Gavin MacGregor, F-C
2
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
TOTALS
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
33-65
9-21
13-22
5
31
20
11
3
9
28
88
50.8%
42.9%
59.1%
UTAH UTES
STARTERS
MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
Kim Tillie, F
13
1-2
0-0
0-0
1
6
1
1
0
3
2
2
Carlon Brown, G
24
1-6
0-1
2-2
1
5
2
0
1
1
3
4
Luke Nevill, C
39
10-12
0-0
12-14
0
10
0
0
0
2
3
32
Luka Drca, G
39
4-9
2-5
8-10
0
7
9
2
0
3
3
18
Lawrence Borha, G
35
4-9
2-5
2-5
1
1
0
0
0
6
3
12
BENCH
MIN
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
Jordan Cyphers, G-F
2
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
Jace Tavita, G-F
1
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Shaun Green, F
38
3-6
1-4
0-1
5
6
3
0
1
0
1
7
Tyler Kepkay, G
34
5-12
2-7
7-8
0
4
0
0
0
0
2
19
TOTALS
FGM-A
3PM-A
FTM-A
OREB
REB
AST
STL
BLK
TO
PF
PTS
28-56
7-22
31-40
8
39
15
3
2
15
18
94
50.0%
31.8%
77.5%