PROVO BYU s first game in two weeks after a run of COVID-inspired postponements was a punch in the mouth both figuratively and literally, at least to some extent.
After the first three games of West Coast Conference play were called off due to COVID-19 related issues in a trio of California schools, the Cougars volunteered neigh, dang near pleaded to play anyone, any time, any place to open conference play.
Be careful what you wish for top-ranked Gonzaga loomed in Spokane, a date moved up from February to accommodate a shifting schedule as many have grown to expect in college basketball.
Highlights: Men s Basketball vs. BYU
PROVO BYU had three full days to prepare for its tipoff against top-ranked Gonzaga after both teams West Coast Conference opponents forced a mid-week scheduling adjustment.
The Cougars were in the game for three full minutes.
Corey Kispert had 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting, and Jalen Suggs added 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals as No. 1 Gonzaga blasted BYU 86-69 in the McCarthy Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington.
Drew Timme added 12 points and four assists for the Zags (11-0, 2-0 WCC), and Andrew Nembhard supplied 12 points, three rebounds and two assists off the bench.
Slow start hurts Cougars in loss to Boise State
BYU Men’s Basketball fell to 5-2 on the season after losing to Boise State 74-70 at the Marriott Center on Wednesday, Dec. 9.
“Congratulations to Boise State,” head coach Mark Pope said. “We knew they were a good team coming in, they’re very talented in multiple positions. They came out with some fire and passion to start out the game and we could not respond. I was proud of my guys for hanging in there, fighting, battling through frustration, and staying locked in, but we just weren’t quite good enough to get it done.”
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BYU Men’s Basketball | Matt Haarms | Boise State | Post Game Press Conference | December 9, 2020
BYU Men’s Basketball | Alex Barcello | Boise State | Post Game Press Conference | December 9, 2020
PROVO The last time Boise State beat BYU in Provo, during the Cougar Classic on Dec. 13, 1996, the second-largest crowd in the Broncos history watched the most-heavily attended win in the program s past with 20,358 fans on hand.
Wednesday night s crowd inside the Marriott Center, during the coronavirus pandemic, was more than 20,000 fewer than that.
There was just as much celebration in the Broncos locker room, though.
RayJ Dennis scored 19 points with five assists, and former Wasatch Academy star Emmanuel Akot hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to give Boise State its first road win over BYU in 24 years, 74-70, Wednesday night in the Marriott Center.