BYU held a late challenge, and Brandon Averette’s 3-pointer, 52 seconds ahead, gave the Cougars enough breathing space, BYU won a signed victory, defeating No. 18 San Diego State 72-62 over Viejas San Diego Arena on Friday.
The Cougars (7-2) led by up to 17 points in the second half before seeing their narrow lead as San Diego State (5-1) tied the score at 61-61 with 1:56 to play, but BYU made six free throws in the final minute after Averette’s big hit – the Cougars scored the final nine points of the game – to win.
Here are three commercials in the game:
- Cougars’ big three, Alex Barcello, Matt Haarms and Averette, shone, and the trio received key support from the bench. Barcello had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead BYU, while Haarms (10 points, eight rebounds, one block) and Averette (10 points, two rebounds, two 3-pointers) also scored. , in double digits. The Cougars outscored the Aztecs 22-11 in points on the bench – Spencer Johnson and Trevin Knell had eight each – and BYU had a 30-20-point margin in the paint.
- Matt Mitchell kicked off the Aztec rally, as SDSU used a 14-0 run to make it 61-all with just under two minutes of regulation, after BYU took a 61-47 lead with 5:20 of play. Mitchell had three triples and 12 of those 14 points in the race and finished with a maximum score of 35 points on 12 of 17 shots, with five triples.
- BYU held the state of San Diego at 25% in the first half, while the Cougars took a break with a 35-20 lead. The Cougars managed 51.9% of their shots in the first half, including five triples, while the Aztecs made just two 3s in the opening half. BYU shot 46.3% for the game, compared to 36.8% for the state of San Diego.