BYU 69, Utah 61
PROVO — BYU's seniors had waited a long time to beat Utah at the Marriott Center — some of them longer than others. When the Cougars finally conquered the Utes late Monday night in front of 19,098 fans, it was, not surprisingly, the seniors who led the way.
In their final home game against their arch-rivals, Mekeli Wesley, Trent Whiting and Terrell Lyday combined to convert nine 3-pointers and score 51 points as BYU downed Utah at home for the first time in six seasons, 69-61.
The Cougars improved to 14-6 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West while the Utes (11-9, 3-3) lost their third consecutive conference game.
In his first showdown against Utah since transferring from there a year ago, Whiting scored a game-high 21 points and dished out a game-high eight assists. Another senior, Nate Cooper — whose Cougar career began months after BYU had last defeated Utah in Provo, way back in 1995 — started in place of an injured Travis Hansen and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
"It was a great effort by Trent, Terrell and Mekeli," said Cougar coach Steve Cleveland. "And I thought Nate Cooper did an outstanding job. He played with a lot of passion. I couldn't have been more pleased for the seniors."
Entering the contest, Wesley owned a dubious 0-3 record against Utah at home. Naturally, he savored the end of that drought.
"It means a lot to this program and to me personally," said the Provo native, who scored 16 points and drilled four 3-pointers. "I've had four cracks at it, and we finally got one. It feels good to go out like that.
"Beating Utah is something I've been thinking about since I was a kid. When a team has dominated you the whole time you've been in college (Wesley is now 2-7 against the Utes in his career), any time you play an established team like Utah that has beaten you so many times, it's always good to get a win, especially on your home floor. We came out and played like we wanted to win."
Wesley almost single-handedly broke the game open midway through the second half by scoring eight consecutive points, including a pair of 3-pointers. By the time his assault was over, BYU led, 49-34.
"Mekeli stepped up and gave us a lot of momentum," said Lyday, who scored 14 points. The Cougars eventually built a lead of 19, 60-41, with 7:47 remaining after a layup and free throw by Whiting.
"If Mekeli Wesley's not the best player in the league, then Terrell Lyday is," said Utah coach Dick Hunsaker. "And if Lyday is not the best player, then Whiting is. They're all so dangerous, and they can run a string of points on you in a hurry."
While the Cougars started four seniors, the Utes have only one senior on their entire roster — center Nate Althoff. In the second half, BYU's senior leadership seemed to take over. "Experience pays off," Whiting said.
BYU held a slim 28-26 advantage at halftime following a first half that saw Utah dominate the Cougars on the boards. "The difference in this ball game was the second half," Cleveland said. "In the first half, we gave up 26 rebounds and we got 12. We did a much better job on the boards in the second half."
The Cougars also shot 56 percent in the second half, up from 36 percent in the first. Whiting and Wesley opened the second half by each sinking a 3-pointer as the Cougars began to pull away.
"Tonight we played about as hard as we have all year in the first half," Hunsaker said. "Then we let their big three shake loose in the second half. We were hoping to contain them, but they got away from us. We just couldn't match them on offense."
The Utes were led by Nick Jacobsen, who scored 11 points, and Jeff Johnsen, who chipped in 10. Overall, Utah struggled shooting the ball. Phil Cullen was 0-for-7 from the floor and Britton Johnsen was 3-for-10. The Utes shot 39 percent as a team.
Utah did manage to outscore BYU, 20-9, in the final six minutes, long after the outcome had been decided. The Cougars thoroughly dominated the first 14 minutes of the second half.
Whiting admitted that the thought of facing his former school gave him more pre-game jitters than usual. "It was different to play those guys," he said. "But I had to shut that out. I looked at it as a Mountain West Conference game we had to win."
The Cougars host Air Force Thursday night and New Mexico Saturday afternoon. The Utes entertain the Falcons Saturday and the Lobos Monday.
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com