Utah Utes vs Brigham Young Cougars Match Player Stats On Dec 12, 2020

Connor Harding had 17 points, Richard Harward made all seven of his field-goal attempts while scoring 15 points, and BYU downed Utah 82-64 in Provo, Utah, on Saturday.

Spencer Johnson supplied 16 points and six rebounds and Caleb Lohner added eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds for the Cougars. Alex Barcello, who was averaging 19.6 points, scored a season-low five points but dished out eight assists.

Johnson and Harward combined for their 31 points off the bench, which overall accounted for half of BYU's total.

BYU (6-2) was coming off a four-point loss to Boise State on Wednesday. The Cougars shot 55.4 percent from the field, while the Utes were held to 36.4 percent.

Alfonso Plummer's 19 points led Utah (2-1), which was playing its first road game of the season. Riley Battin added 14 points. The Utes defeated Washington and Idaho State in their first two games.

The Cougars dominated the boards, outrebounding the Utes 44-28.

BYU made nine of its last 11 field-goal attempts in the first half while building a 40-27 halftime lead. Harding led the way with eight points while Plummer topped the Utes with nine.

The Cougars took an eight-point lead midway through the half with a 15-2 run. A three-point play by Harward with 4:52 left increased the lead to 32-21. A made jumper by Harding provided the biggest lead of the half at 38-24.

Utah was held to 31 percent shooting before the break.

Matt Haarms converted a three-point play 14 seconds in the second half to give BYU a 16-point advantage.

Utah slowly chipped away and got its deficit down to eight at 49-41 on a Plummer 3-pointer.

It was still an eight-point differential with 12 minutes to go, then BYU reasserted itself. The Cougars scored 10 unanswered points to make it 66-48 with eight minutes left.

Hayward got the run started with a layup. Harding contributed five points on a 3-pointer and a layup.

A Battin layup with 7:52 remaining ended Utah's drought but the damage had been done. Johnson's layup with 5:37 left nudged BYU's lead to 20, 71-51.

--Field Level Media