Longhorns Can't Cool Off Hot-Shooting No. 21 BYU, Fall in Provo
Coming off of back-to-back ranked Big 12 wins, the Texas Longhorns continued their mid-season gauntlet against the No. 21 BYU Cougars on Saturday in Provo.
But despite having momentum at their backs, the Longhorns were unable to secure a third straight win over a top-25 team.
No. 21 BYU shot 64 percent from the field and had five players in double figures in a 84-72 win over Texas, which now falls to 3-4 in Big 12 play.
© Rob Gray, USA TODAY
Texas forward Dylan Disu fought off triple teams and constant pressure before finishing with a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Chendall Weaver added 15 points and five rebounds off the bench while Tyrese Hunter posted 10 points, three rebounds and six assists.
The Cougars' balanced offense got 17 points apiece from Noah Waterman and Jaxson Robinson while Fousseyni Traore had 16 points and six rebounds off the bench.
BYU's single-game program record for shot percentage is 68.8 percent, which shows just how hot the Cougars were on Saturday. Though the Longhorns had their fair share of inconsistencies on defense, the Cougars hit nearly every shot they looked at, as most of their scoreless possessions ended in a turnover instead of a missed shot. The Longhorns won the turnover battle 16-7, but this didn't make a difference in a double-digit loss.
The Longhorns hit five triples in the first 10 minutes and led by as many as seven, but the Cougars put together a 12-2 run to take a 26-21 lead at the 9:57 mark.
Four points from Weaver brought the deficit back to one before BYU built the lead up to as many as 10 after a 13-4 run. It looked like the Cougars were going to start running away with it, but Texas had a quick 10-1 run to end the half before Spencer Johnson hit a layup at the buzzer to make it a 44-41 lead at half for the home team.
BYU shot 65.4 percent in the first half on 17 of 26 shooting and had 28 points in the paint, but the Longhorns forced eight turnovers and stayed steady. Disu led all scorers with 11 points at halftime.
The Cougars stayed hot and had a 10-0 run to begin the second half. Though Weaver scored seven straight points in response, BYU showed a sign of what was still to come.
After this, the Longhorns trailed by double digits for nearly the entire half. They cut it to single digits on two separate occasions, but BYU never folded and kept its foot on the pedal.
Texas hosts No. 4 Houston on Monday in Austin.
