BYU Basketball Stumbles Down the Stretch in Narrow Loss to No. 6 Iowa State

The Cougars let another halftime lead slip away in a tough loss to Iowa State

The Cardiac Cougs were back in action on Wednesday night in Ames, Iowa. No. 20 BYU used a stellar first half to take a 38-27 lead over no. 6 Iowa State into the halftime locker room. In the first half, BYU was moving the ball and hitting shots, especially the bench unit. Jaxson Robinson and Richie Saunders combined to shoot a perfect 9/9 in the first half for 22 points.

BYU played defense at a high level throughout the night, but the offense went cold in the second half. BYU shot just 7/30 in the second half. 23% shooting in a half is just not enough to hold on to a lead against a top 10 team. BYU finished the night shooting 28% from three after shooting 43% from three in the second half.

Even though the shots weren't falling, BYU had a chance to win this one down the stretch. With 04:24 remaining in the game, Richie Saunders hit two free throws to give BYU a 63-61 lead. BYU went scoreless on its next seven possessions:

1. Dallin Hall missed three
2. Richie Saunder missed three
3. Fousseyni Traore missed the front end of a one-and-one, offensive rebound and missed jumper by Richie Saunders, offensive rebound and missed three by Jaxson Robinson, offensive rebound and Dallin Hall's layup blocked
4. Dallin Hall turnover
5. Fousseyni Traore travel
6. Lost ball turnover by Dallin Hall
7. Missed three by Dallin Hall

Iowa State, meanwhile, was ice cold as well. The Cyclones didn't make a field goal in the last 3:33 of the game. Free throws, however, pushed Iowa State over the top.

The three consecutive turnovers down the stretch spoiled BYU's chances of pulling off the road upset.

Dallin Hall was so good against Kansas down the stretch. Against an Iowa State defense that's one of the best press defenses in the country, Hall struggled. He also didn't get much help from guys around him. This will be a learning experience for Hall who is just a sophomore. So much of BYU's offense is put on Hall's shoulders. There were certainly a few moments he would probably like to have back.

This game represented an opportunity for BYU to climb as high as a four seed in the NCAA tournament. Instead, BYU returns home with a chance to finish the conference slate above .500 against Oklahoma State.

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