Utes Earn Comeback Win Over BYU

SALT LAKE -- Utah's Nick Jacobson and Andrew Bogut each scored 21 points and the Utes held BYU to just one field goal in the final six minutes as Utah overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to earn a 64-56 victory Saturday afternoon at the Huntsman Center.

"We played well in the first half," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said. "We were able to stop them from getting second and third shots, but we weren't able to stop them from getting second and third opportunities in the second half."

The Cougars jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half behind the shooting of Mark Bigelow and Garner Meads. Bigelow scored 14 points in the first half on 5-5 shooting, including three 3-pointers, while Meads added 10 points.

BYU used runs of 10-2 and 11-4 to build its lead in the first 20 minutes with Utah never leading, but the Utes came out of the locker room in the second half fired up behind the 3-point shooting of Jacobson and the inside play of Bogut.

After a Mike Hall basket to open the second half, the Utes exploded for a 15-4 run to cut the BYU lead to six at 40-34. Utah would take its first lead of the game on a Jacobson 3-point basket with 7:16 remaining.

Utah would take the lead for good a few of minutes later on another 3-pointer by Jacobson, who finished the game with five triples, four in the second half. Then the Utes turned up the defensive pressure, holding BYU to just six points over the final four minutes.

"In the last five minutes (of the game) they got their confidence back," Cleveland said. "And we weren't able to counter."

Bigelow finished with a season-high 22 points to lead BYU, while Rafael Araujo added a team-high nine boards. Bogut pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for Utah and also had an excellent game defensively, helping hold Araujo, who entered the game with a league-leading 19.8 scoring average, to just eight points.

BYU forward Jared Jensen missed his third straight game with a back injury, and Cougar backup point guard Terry Nashif was not able to play, out with mononucleosis.

With the loss, BYU falls to 2-4 in conference and 12-7 overall, while Utah improves to 4-2 in conference and 16-5 overall. The Cougars have lost three games in a row for the first time since a three-game skid in 2002.

After playing eight of its last 11 games on the road, including the last three contests, BYU returns home to the Marriott Center Saturday to face UNLV at 1 p.m. The Cougars will play five of their final eight regular-season games in Provo.


Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
BYU vs Utah
01/31/04 1:04 P.M. at Huntsman Center - Salt Lake City, Utah
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VISITORS: BYU 12-7, 2-4 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
03 BIGELOW, Mark....... f  7-11   3-5    5-5    0  3  3   1  22  1  2  1  0  37
41 MEADS, Garner....... f  3-6    0-1    4-5    3  2  5   2  10  1  1  1  1  29
55 ARAUJO, Rafael...... c  3-15   0-1    2-3    4  5  9   4   8  1  3  0  4  33
01 HALL, Mike.......... g  3-11   0-2    2-2    0  1  1   4   8  1  2  1  2  34
04 LEMES, Luiz......... g  1-4    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  1  0  0  2  30
00 WOODBERRY, Kevin....    1-4    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   3   2  1  0  0  0  21
05 SHOFF, Jake.........    2-2    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   0   4  0  0  0  0  16
   TEAM................                         6  1  7
   Totals..............   20-53   3-12  13-15  15 14 29  14  56  6  8  3  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-27 48.1%   2nd Half:  7-26 26.9%   Game: 37.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-7  42.9%   2nd Half:  0-5   0.0%   Game: 25.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-5  100 %   2nd Half:  8-10 80.0%   Game: 86.7%    0
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HOME TEAM: Utah 16-5, 4-2 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
04 BOGUT, Andrew....... f  9-13   1-2    2-3    3  9 12   2  21  3  3  2  0  34
13 CHANEY, Richard..... f  1-3    0-1    0-0    4  0  4   2   2  0  1  1  1  33
54 FROST, Tim.......... c  1-7    0-2    0-0    3  0  3   3   2  3  1  0  0  29
11 DRISDOM, Tim........ g  5-7    1-2    3-3    2  5  7   4  14  2  4  0  1  30
15 JACOBSON, Nick...... g  7-15   5-8    2-2    0  1  1   2  21  0  0  0  0  37
02 OLSEN, Josh.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   7
05 HAWKINS, Justin.....    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  0  0  0  0   9
20 MARKSON, Bryant.....    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   1   0  0  2  1  0  10
30 JACKSON, Chris......    1-3    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  0  1  0  0  11
   TEAM................                            2  2
   Totals..............   25-51   7-16   7-8   13 20 33  16  64  8 12  4  2 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-23 39.1%   2nd Half: 16-28 57.1%   Game: 49.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-7  14.3%   2nd Half:  6-9  66.7%   Game: 43.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  7-8  87.5%   Game: 87.5%    0
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Officials: Scott Thornley, Randy McCall, Jim Danner
Technical fouls: BYU-None. Utah-None.
Attendance: 14413
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BYU...........................   34   22  -   56
Utah..........................   19   45  -   64
ID-212798
Points in the paint-BY 12,UT 18. Points off turnovers-BY 17,UT 9.
2nd chance points-BY 16,UT 22. Fast break points-BY 0,UT 0.
Bench points-BY 6,UT 4. Score tied-1 time. Lead changes-5 times.