BYU vs. Utah: Game Notes & Quotes

Player Notes

Nate Austin drilled a 3-pointer to give him treys in four-straight games.
Noah Hartsock was 5 of 5 from the charity stripe in the first half and 6 of 6 for the game. Hartsock finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds and blocked 4 shots for the third time this year.
Craig Cusick finished with a career-high 10 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Cusick’s two 3-pointers helped spark runs of 7-0 and 10-0.
After not taking a shot until the second half, Charles Abouo scored three baskets in a row, including a 3-pointer. Abouo finished with 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting.

Team Notes

Head coach Dave Rose went with the starting lineup of Anson Winder, Brock Zylstra, Charles Abouo, Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies.
BYU assisted on 85.7 percent of its field goals in the first half, but made just 7 shots. In the second half the team assisted on 9 of 12 makes to give them 78.9 percent for the game.
The Cougars held Utah to 4 of 22 shooting and just 17 points in the first half. It ties the lowest point total in the first half for an opponent this season (17 vs. BYU-Hawaii) and a season-low point total for a game at 42.
BYU shot 52.2 percent in the second half to make up for a poor first half. BYU finished shooting 38.8 percent for the game.
The Cougars have now defeated Utah 6 games in a row and won 10 of their last 11 contests vs. their in-state rivals.

Game Trends

Cusick sank a 3-pointer to give BYU an 8-5 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the first half after trailing 5-1 for a 7-0 run.
Stephen Rogers hit a trey to extend BYU’s lead to 16-12 with under nine minutes left in the first half.
Zylstra made two 3-pointers at the end of the first half to give BYU a 25-17 lead heading into the break.
Cusick and Hartsock made back-to-back threes with 13:52 left in the game, giving BYU its largest lead to that point at 36-22 as part of a 10-0 run in the second half.
Abouo made three-straight buckets including a 3-pointer to stretch BYU’s lead to 52-32 with just over five minutes on the clock.