PROVO — This BYU basketball team sure seems to enjoy drama. For the second straight night, the Cougars battled back from a double-digit second-half deficit to win a game in its Holiday Classic.
On Saturday, Seton Hall — the first Big East Conference opponent to pay a visit to the Marriott Center since St. John's in 1990 — pushed BYU to the limit in the Cougars' final tune-up before opening Mountain West Conference play next weekend.
BYU outlasted the visiting Pirates, who wore down late in the contest, to record a hard-fought 77-68 victory.
While the Cougars assumed control of the game in the final three minutes, they made things interesting by missing six of 12 free throw attempts.
"We didn't want the crowd to leave," joked guard Austin Ainge, who scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but missed three free throws in the waning moments.
When the game was over, BYU forward Keena Young walked away with the Holiday Classic MVP trophy after scoring 26 points (on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor) and collecting nine rebounds.
The BYU Holiday Classic all-tournament team featured BYU's Lee Cummard, Oral Roberts' Ken Tutt and Caleb Green; Seton Hall's Brian Laing, and Liberty's Larry Blair.
The Cougars received the Holiday Classic trophy for their efforts, having defeated Liberty, Oral Roberts and Seton Hall on back-to-back-to-back nights.
"I have been involved in a lot of three-night tournaments back when I was coaching (at Dixie State College)," said BYU coach Dave Rose. "There were a lot of guys just gassed and competing hard tonight. They left everything out there on the court."
Rose was pleased with the way his team performed this weekend.
"This team grew a lot in these three days," Rose said. "I'm proud of the guys and how they played."
Just like Friday night's triumph over Oral Roberts, Young dominated in the second half to spark a Cougar comeback. Against Seton Hall, BYU fell behind and trailed by 10 with 16:30 remaining in the game.
Young scored 18 of his points in the final 20 minutes and he did it in front of his parents, Cleveland and Lavella, who traveled from Beaumont, Texas, to watch him play.
"It was nice to send them home with a Christmas present," Young said.
Young sent the Pirates packing with his physical play and nifty moves around the basket.
After traveling from the East Coast and playing three games in three nights, who could blame Seton Hall, which applied a tenacious full-court press throughout the contest, for being fatigued?
"We have an advantage in this format because we play a lot of guys," Ainge said.
As usual, the Cougars relied on numerous contributors. Cummard notched his first career double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Point guard Rashaun Broadus, who sat on the bench for long stretches on Saturday, came through to score seven clutch points in the second half, including a huge 3-pointer that gave the Cougars a 67-61 lead with five minutes remaining.
Broadus "was playing at the wrong speed," Rose said of the senior's time on the bench. "When he got into that high gear, that's when he's a good player. It was a good game for him."
BYU came out sluggish in the first half and an aggressive Seton Hall took full advantage. The Pirates jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the Cougars showed some signs of life.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Cummard and Ainge, followed by a jumper by Young, tied the score at 12 apiece. But Seton Hall scored 10 straight points and ended up with a 43-35 halftime advantage.
The telling statistic in the first half was turnovers. BYU committed 15 and Seton Hall capitalized, scoring 24 points off turnovers.
That issue was addressed in the Cougar locker room during intermission.
"At halftime, we said, 'If we don't turn the ball over, we'll win the game,"' Ainge said. "We had only four turnovers in the second half, and we won."
Expect the drama to increase as the Cougars enter MWC play this week.
E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com