Rudi Williams scored 26 points to lead host BYU to a 75-66 victory over Utah on Saturday in Provo, Utah.
Fousseyni Traore tallied 17 points and eight rebounds to help the Cougars (8-5) win their third straight game. Gideon George chipped in 11 points and Jaxson Robinson added 10.
Branden Carlson led the Utes (9-3) with 18 points. Rollie Worster and Lazar Stefanovic added 12 points apiece. Stefanovic finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
BYU beat Utah for the fifth time in their last six meetings. The Cougars scored 21 points off 14 Ute turnovers overall and never trailed in the second half.
The Cougars got an early spark from Traore. He scored BYU’s first four baskets and first 10 points overall, giving the Cougars a quick 10-7 lead.
Carlson scored three baskets, including a 3-pointer, to help the Utes build a five-point lead at 20-15. But Utah fell behind after struggling to keep the Cougars off the offensive glass.
Williams mimicked Traore’s outburst to help BYU charge back in front before halftime. He made five baskets to fuel a 15-4 run that put the Cougars up 32-26. The senior guard highlighted the flurry with back-to-back 3-pointers.
BYU ripped off a 12-2 run starting midway through the second half to extend its lead to 59-44. Utah missed 15-of-17 shots over an 11-minute stretch to open the door for the Cougars to go ahead by double digits.
Williams scored a pair of baskets and made three free throws to fuel the run.
Utah rallied and cut the deficit to 60-57 on Carlson’s jumper that capped a 13-1 run. Williams and Dallin Hall answered with back-to-back baskets to give BYU enough breathing room going into the final two minutes.
–Field Level Media
