Cougars Fall to No. 24 Utes in Final Minute

PROVO -- Unable to convert in the final minutes, BYU saw its five-game win streak come to an end Saturday with a 56-49 loss to No. 24-ranked Utah. A sellout crowd of 22,580 attended the game in the Marriott Center.

With Utah holding a 51-49 edge with 6:54 left in the game, both the Cougars and Utes went the next six minutes without scoring with BYU missing several opportunities to tie the game, including two missed free throws and a missed layup. Hanno Mottola's jumper with 54 seconds left gave Utah a four-point margin. A Utah steal on BYU's next possession sealed the Cougars' fate.

"We had several opportunities, but it was a basketball game that I thought we did everything we needed to do to win," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. "We were in a position four consecutive times to win the game but we weren't able to make the big play at the end of the ball game. Utah is a great defensive team -- you have to give them credit."

The Utes' size proved an advantage as the 6-9 Mottola led Utah with 18 points and 6-11 center Nate Althoff added 11. Senior forward Alex Jensen scored nine while making both of his three-point attempts to give the Utes a lift at critical times.

"I feel particularly good because in the face of adversity we continued to make shots and plays," Utah coach Rick Majerus said. "You've got to give BYU credit too for taking some looks away from our guys."

Mekeli Wesley scored 21 points, followed by Terell Lyday with 12, to lead BYU. Wesley also had a game-high seven rebounds. The Cougars shot 40 percent for the game compared to Utah's 43 percent.

"I feel great about our program and I feel great about this team," Cleveland said. "There is one indication of the progress we have had the last couple years by the celebration Utah had after the game. To get where everyone wants us to be, this game really contributes to it. We need to have fans here like we did tonight because it's a big part of basketball."

The Cougars fall to 12-3 overall and 1-1 in Mountain West Conference play with the loss. Utah improves to 13-3 and 2-0.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
University of Utah vs BYU
1/15/00 1:07 at Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: University of Utah 13-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
13 MOTTOLA, Hanno...... f  7-16   0-4    4-7    1  3  4   4  18  1  3  2  0  32
50 JENSEN, Alex........ f  3-6    2-2    1-3    2  4  6   4   9  1  1  1  0  23
52 ALTHOFF, Nate....... c  5-9    0-0    1-2    0  6  6   4  11  0  1  0  0  20
03 COLBERT, Gary....... g  0-0    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   1   0  3  1  0  1  22
32 KILLION, Jeremy..... g  2-6    1-5    0-0    0  3  3   2   5  2  1  0  1  36
04 SHARP, Adam.........    0-1    0-1    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  2  0  0   7
05 HARVEY, Tony........    2-4    2-4    1-1    0  2  2   0   7  1  3  0  1  26
35 JOHNSEN, Jeff.......    1-2    0-0    1-1    1  1  2   4   3  1  1  2  0  16
40 CULLEN, Phil........    1-4    0-2    1-2    2  0  2   1   3  2  1  0  0  11
42 PUZEY, Mike.........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   1   0  0  0  0  0   7
   TEAM................                         2     2
   Totals..............   21-49   5-18   9-16  11 23 34  21  56 11 14  5  3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-23  .565   2nd Half:  8-26  .308   Game:  .429  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-8   .250   2nd Half:  3-10  .300   Game:  .278  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-6   .500   2nd Half:  6-10  .600   Game:  .562     4
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HOME TEAM: BYU 12-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 RIVERS, Silester.... f  1-2    0-0    3-7    2  2  4   3   5  0  1  0  0  21
15 WESLEY, Mekeli...... f  8-16   2-5    3-5    1  6  7   4  21  1  1  0  2  39
04 CHRISTENSEN, Todd... g  0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  4  0  0  25
13 VRANES, Michael..... g  2-7    0-1    0-1    0  4  4   0   4  3  1  1  2  33
24 LYDAY, Terrell...... g  3-8    1-3    5-6    0  6  6   2  12  3  4  1  3  36
25 NIELSEN, Eric.......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   5   2  0  1  0  0  14
31 MONTAGUE, Matt......    0-0    0-0    0-1    0  1  1   1   0  1  3  0  0   7
42 COOPER, Nathan......    1-5    1-1    2-4    1  2  3   2   5  0  0  0  2  25
   TEAM................                         3  1  4
   Totals..............   16-40   4-11  13-24   7 23 30  19  49  8 15  2  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-20  .550   2nd Half:  5-20  .250   Game:  .400  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-7   .286   2nd Half:  2-4   .500   Game:  .364  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-9   .667   2nd Half:  7-15  .467   Game:  .542     4
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Officials: David Hall, Ronnie Hernandez, Randy McCall
Technical fouls: University of Utah-None. BYU-None.
Attendance: 22580
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
University of Utah............   31   25  -   56
BYU...........................   30   19  -   49