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Men's Basketball Can't Get Shots to Fall in Loss to BYU

by Utah Athletics
Dec 12, 2020

Box Score (PDF)

SALT LAKE CITY – A tough shooting night for the University of Utah men's basketball team saw it fall to in-state rival BYU 82-64 inside the Marriott Center Saturday evening.
 
The opening minutes of the first half saw both teams exchanging baskets before Utah took a 14-9 lead out of the first media break behind a 6-0 run. The Cougars answered with a 15-2 spurt of their own that forced the Utes to take a timeout with 6:52 left in the first half.
 
Alfonso Plummer did his best to keep Utah (2-1, 1-0 Pac-12) within striking distance of BYU heading into halftime with six-straight points, including his second 3-pointer of the afternoon with 2:09 on the clock before heading into the lockerroom down 40-27.

 
Utah started the second stanza much better on the shooting front and cut the BYU (6-2) lead down to 51-44 with 13:47 on the clock after Riley Battin drained his second 3-pointer of the half. A drive to the hoop from Rylan Jones and jumper from Timmy Allen saw the Runnin' Utes cut the lead to single-digits twice more.

 
However, the Utes went cold once again from the floor and saw the Cougars take advantage, pushing their lead back to double-digits and hand Utah its first loss of the season.
 
Plummer led the game with 19 points on 4-of-8 from downtown and tied his career-high five rebounds. Battin was two buckets shy of his career-high, recording 14 points while Allen and Mikael Jantunen each chipped in with nine points.
 
NOTABLES
The Utes now trail the all-time series 132-129 after Saturday's loss … Utah was able to take a 14-7 edge in points on turnovers … the Utes were once again beaten in the battle of the boards with BYU taking a 44-28 on the glass.
 
UP NEXT
The Utes look to rebound next Tuesday, Dec. 15, when it hosts another in-state foe in Utah Valley inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Tip-off against the Wolverines is set for 5 p.m. (MT) on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
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