'Win and lose on the margins': BYU's late-game struggles continue in OT loss to Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — For BYU men's basketball, old habits died hard on the Hill during Saturday night's rivalry loss to the University of Utah.

Ezra Ausar scored 24 of his 26 points after halftime to lead the Runnin' Utes to a 73-72 win over the Cougars, and Hunter Erickson scored the only points of the final 56 seconds from the free-throw line to close out back-to-back wins over their in-state rivals.

Fousseyni Traore and Richie Saunders each scored 16 points, and Saunders added seven rebounds, four assists and a steal for BYU, which has lost four of its last five games.

But with everything on the line, it was the Runnin' Utes that did what the Cougars (11-6, 2-4 Big 12) have consistently been unable to do: close out a game down the stretch, either from the field or the free-throw line.

"We've got to learn how to win close games. We're right there in all of these games and have had a chance to win," BYU coach Kevin Young said. "I just told our club, you win and lose on the margins in close games. We've come up short too many times, and that's disappointing.

"I thought tonight we had a lot of resolve," the first-year college head coach added. "With our backs against the wall, we made a lot of plays that we weren't making (before). ... There's growth moments there, but we've just got to string together more things than we currently are."

BYU shot just 38.5% from the field, including 8-of-30 from 3-point range, and a mere 4-of-10 from the foul line to make the Utes' 44.6% shooting look like an offensive clinic — all while being outrebounded 47-44 after serving up a 23-20 edge on the glass in the first half and admittedly struggling with Utah's "physicality in general," Young said.

"We were trying to help when we should've just been worried about getting the rebound from other guys," he said. "We've got to give (Utah) credit for that."

When the Cougars needed a bucket the most, inefficiency reigned — much like it did in losses to Texas Tech and TCU before Saturday night.

BYU went 12-of-21 from the free-throw line of a 72-67 home loss to the Red Raiders, then added a 12-of-19 performance from the charity stripe in a 71-67 road loss to TCU. Even in the Cougars' 85-69 win over Oklahoma State, the hosts made just 19-of-27 foul shots.

Traore's game-tying bucket with nine seconds left was one of his three final shots — the other two came in overtime, when BYU connected on just 4-of-9 field goals.

But the biggest shot belonged to Hunter Erickson, the former BYU transfer by way of Salt Lake Community College. The former Timpview standout drained a 3-pointer with 2:08 remaining to tie the game at 70-70 with the Utes' final field goal of the contest, then knocked down three free throws to hold on for the win.

Truthfully, neither team shot well from the foul stripe — the Utes were just 17-of-32, leaving their fair share of freebies caroming off the rim.

But Erickson, whose 9 points, including 3-of-4 free throws, made a few clutch shots when his current team needed them most.

"I know I'm a good free-throw shooter; I'm a good shooter all-around," said Erickson, whose airball miss from the line was quickly forgotten by the partial home crowd of 15,558. "I've got confidence in myself.

"In those moments, you just don't have time to think about what's happened. You've just got to move on to the next and be in the present. I did that the best I could, and it worked out."

For BYU, it was question marks.

Five-star freshman Egor Demin had 9 points on 4-of-12 shooting with six rebounds and two assists, and Trevin Knell tallied just 6 points with four rebounds and two assists on 2-of-6 shooting.

Dawson Baker was 4-of-9 from the field for 8 points with four assists, and Ausar helped defend Dallin Hall to just 2 points and four assists on 0-of-5 shooting. Keba Keita tied the game-high with nine rebounds, but shot just 2-of-7 from the field for 4 points.

But the biggest misses were at the line. The Cougars didn't get as many chances from the foul line — less than a third, to be fair.

They just didn't make the ones they had count, either.

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