‘Gotta have more grit’: BYU basketball searching for toughness after 3rd-straight loss

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BYU Cougars head coach Kevin Young reacts to a referee’s call during an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders held at the Marriott Center in Provo on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

After BYU lost 71-67 to TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday afternoon, Cougars coach Kevin Young noted that his squad could just as easily be 3-1 in Big 12 play, instead of 1-3.

BYU (10-5, 1-3) was completely overmatched at No. 12 Houston on Jan. 4, but it was just a play here or there that kept it from defeating Texas Tech at home last Tuesday.

A lack of late-game execution also doomed the Cougars at Schollmaier Arena on Saturday, as BYU failed to make a field goal in the final three minutes, 10 seconds of the game against the shorthanded Frogs.

“Yeah, hard-fought game. It was an exciting game. They made plays down the stretch there,” Young said in the postgame news conference. “We had a couple costly turnovers that really hurt us, and I thought that was the story of the game.”

Although the Cougars dominated the glass, out-rebounding TCU 35-24, the Frogs were able to get off 13 more shots, thanks to BYU’s 16 turnovers.

“So we gotta be better there,” Young said. “And then defensively, for the most part I thought we did a good job. We are kicking ourselves for not getting the ball out of (Noah Reynolds) hands there at the end. But he’s a heckuva player, made a big play.”

Reynolds’ field goal in the paint with 24 seconds remaining broke a 67-67 tie and was the game-winner, as BYU didn’t get off a good shot. Freshman Egor Demin’s twisting 3-pointer with nine seconds left didn’t come close.

The Cougars made just nine field goals in the second half, which Young attributed to the turnovers, rather than poor shot selection.

Richie Saunders led BYU with 26 points on 9 of 13 shooting, and also made two clutch free throws with 1:44 left to give BYU a 67-65 lead. Turns out, those were the last points the Cougars would score.

“There is…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gotta-more-grit-byu-basketball-010000137.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2025-01-13 01:00:00

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