BYU Beats Utah at Home

PROVO -- In a highly anticipated matchup against his former team, senior guard Trent Whiting scored 21 points to lead BYU to a 69-61 victory over arch rival Utah in front of 19,000 fans and a national television audience. The win, which moved the Cougars back into the lead of the all-time series with the Utes, marked the first Utah defeat at the Marriott Center in six years. BYU now leads the series with Utah 115-114, dating back to 1909. More importantly, however, the Cougars improved their overall record to 14-6 on the season, and their 3-2 conference mark moves them into a tie for second place.

The Utes got on the board first, opening the game with a short jumper by Nate Althoff and a three-pointer by Nick Jacobson to take a 5-0 lead. But just over five minutes in, a jumper from Mekeli Wesley gave BYU an 8-7 advantage, and the Cougars would only relinquish the lead once the rest of the game. Two free throws from Mike Puzey near the close of the first half brought Utah to within two at the break. But BYU opened the lead up in the second half with solid defense and sharp shooting from three point range.

"The difference in the ball game was the second half," said BYU coach Steve Cleveland. "We played with much more aggression, especially at the defensive end."

While the Cougars picked up their defensive intensity and rebounding in the second period, the offense started heating up as well. BYU went on a 9-0 run midway through the half, which included back-to-back three pointers and a 15-foot jumper from Wesley, to extend the lead to 49-34 with 11:20 to play. With a traditional three-point play, Whiting capped off an 8-0 run minutes later to give BYU its largest lead of the game at 60-41. The Utes fought back, pulling to within eight with under a minute to play. But the Cougars sealed the victory at the free throw line, hitting 7-of-8 down the stretch.

BYU shot 46 percent from the field and 52 percent from three-point range for the game, including 5-of-8 on threes in the second half. The Cougars held Utah to just 39 percent from the floor, marking the sixth straight game BYU has held an opponent under 40 percent shooting in the Marriott Center.

Wesley finished the night with 16 points, including a career-high four three-pointers. Whiting shot 5-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Terrell Lyday also scored in double figures, finishing with 14 points for the Cougars. Nick Jacobson led the Utes with 11 points, and Jeff Johnson, the only other Ute in double figures, added 10 points.

BYU continues Mountain West Conference play with two more games at home this week. The Cougars host Air Force on Thursday, Feb. 1 and New Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 3. The Thursday night game will get underway at 7 p.m., while the Saturday game is set for a 4 p.m. tipoff.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Utah vs BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars
01/29/01 10:05 at Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Utah 11-9, 3-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
31 JOHNSEN, Britton.... f  3-10   0-1    3-7    4  5  9   3   9  1  4  1  1  29
40 CULLEN, Phil........ f  0-7    0-2    3-4    3  5  8   2   3  1  0  1  1  30
52 ALTHOFF, Nate....... c  4-6    0-0    0-0    0  5  5   3   8  0  2  0  0  20
11 SPIVEY, Travis...... g  1-2    1-1    2-2    0  2  2   3   5  4  4  0  0  24
15 JACOBSON, Nick...... g  3-9    2-5    3-3    0  5  5   1  11  1  2  0  1  29
05 JACKSON, Marc.......    0-1    0-0    4-5    1  0  1   1   4  0  1  0  0  14
10 BRADLEY, Kevin......    2-4    1-3    0-0    0  1  1   1   5  0  1  0  0   7
21 CATON, Trace........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  1  0  0   4
35 JOHNSEN, Jeff.......    5-9    0-0    0-0    1  4  5   3  10  4  2  0  1  22
41 ALLRED, Lance.......    0-0    0-0    0-1    0  0  0   2   0  0  1  0  0   7
42 PUZEY, Mike.........    2-3    0-0    2-2    2  1  3   2   6  0  2  0  0  14
   TEAM................                         3     3
   Totals..............   20-51   4-12  17-24  14 28 42  23  61 11 20  2  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  7-24  .292   2nd Half: 13-27  .481   Game:  .392  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-4   .250   2nd Half:  3-8   .375   Game:  .333  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 11-16  .688   2nd Half:  6-8   .750   Game:  .708     3
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HOME TEAM: BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars 14-6. 3-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 WESLEY, Mekeli...... f  6-13   4-6    0-0    0  3  3   4  16  1  0  1  1  25
25 NIELSEN, Eric....... f  4-6    0-0    0-1    0  1  1   4   8  0  3  2  0  34
42 COOPER, Nathan...... f  0-1    0-0    3-4    0  6  6   3   3  1  0  0  1  24
21 WHITING, Trent...... g  5-9    3-5    8-8    0  2  2   1  21  8  2  0  2  36
24 LYDAY, Terrell...... g  4-12   2-6    4-7    0  2  2   2  14  0  2  0  0  34
01 KNIGHT, Nate........    0-1    0-0    0-3    3  2  5   3   0  1  4  0  0  11
02 HANSEN, Travis......    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  1  2  0  1  11
10 ARCHIBALD, Jordan...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
20 BOBIK, Daniel.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   1
31 MONTAGUE, Matt......    1-3    1-2    0-0    0  2  2   0   3  1  1  0  1  13
34 CHRISMAN, Jacob.....    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   2  0  0  0  0   6
40 HOWARD, Dan.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
   TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   22-48  10-19  15-23   5 21 26  20  69 13 14  3  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-25  .360   2nd Half: 13-23  .565   Game:  .458  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-11  .455   2nd Half:  5-8   .625   Game:  .526  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-7   .714   2nd Half: 10-16  .625   Game:  .652     1
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Officials: Scott Thornley, Bill Gracey, Verne Harris
Technical fouls: Utah-None. BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars-None.
Attendance: 19098
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Utah..........................   26   35  -   61
BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars.........   28   41  -   69