BYU had no answers for Johnny Dee on the perimeter or Thomas Jacobs in the paint as the San Diego Toreros handed the Cougars a devastating 77-74 defeat on Saturday afternoon.
After being in control most of the game, the Cougars surrendered a 17-3 run late in the second half that turned a seven-point lead into a seven-point deficit. BYU managed to close the gap, but failed to capitalize on good scoring chances late in the game.
Jacobs led the way for the Toreros with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and 7-of-11 from the free-throw line to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds. Dee added 18 points on the strength of a 4-of-8 shooting performance from beyond the arc.

Tyler Haws paced the Cougars with 20 points in the loss, but shot just 5-of-13 from the floor. Kyle Collinsworth added 13 points and nine rebounds while Skyler Halford totaled 12 points and a team-high four assists off the bench.
Why the Cougars lost
The Cougars struggled against the stingy San Diego defense, making just 28-of-63 attempts from the floor (44.4 percent), including 3-of-15 from 3-point land (20 percent).
With the kind of offense that the Cougars use, it is key for substantial ball movement for success. For the second straight game, BYU struggled in the department with just 12 assists on 28 made field goals.
Turning point
With the Cougars ahead 61-54 in the second half, Johnny Dee knocked down a contested 3-point shot in the face of Skyler Halford that started the game changing run. That was followed by a flagrant foul on Chase Fischer on the offensive end of the floor that gave the Toreros two free throws plus the ball back. Marcus Harris made both free-throws to cut the BYU lead to a basket before Thomas Jacobs threw down a huge jam to tie the game at 61.
What it means
This loss does serious damage to the Cougars' hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament. They are now 15-7 on the season, but just 5-4 in West Coast Conference action. If there was any room for error, now it's gone. In a league that is normally a two or three-bid league, the Cougars are in fourth place.
Grading the performance
BYU
None of the starting guards shot better than 50 percent from the field, and only Haws got to the line more than twice (he was 10-for-11). Winder finished with nine points on 4-of-12 shooting while Fischer managed just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting.
On an otherwise awful afternoon, the Cougar big men provided some nice production on the offensive end. Luke Worthington had four points and two rebounds while Corbin Kaufusi had two points, four rebounds and two blocks. The key to the big-man rotation was Dalton Nixon, who saw some time at the 5-spot. He put up eight points on 4-of-4 shooting to go along with three rebounds and a steal.
The interior defense was dreadful as the Cougars gave San Diego layups and dunks all game long. When they weren't finishing at the rim, the Toreros were living at the free-throw line where they scored their last eight points of the game.
F
San Diego
The Toreros attacked the rim and took full advantage of the Cougars' lack of depth in the frontcourt. They knocked down key shots and made just enough free throws (20-of-32) to get their third WCC win in nine tries.
The bench was dominant thanks to the play of Jacobs, Brandon Perry and Vasa Pusica. Perry finished with eight points and five rebounds while Pusica added nine points and two assists.
B
Three telling stats
The Cougars were just 3-for-15 from beyond the arc. That was a season-low in makes, attempts and tied for the lowest percentage of the year, according to Sports-reference.com.
BYU recorded 12 assists in the loss, making it the ninth time this season with less than 15 assists in a game, according to Sports-reference.com. The Cougars are 2-7 in the games.
After making five 3-point shots in each of the last three contests, Chase Fischer went 0-for-3 from behind the arc against San Diego.
Up next
The Cougars return home for a Thursday night contest against the San Francisco Dons. The Dons are 9-11 on the season, including 3-5 in WCC play entering Saturday's contest with Loyola Marymount.
The Cougars had little trouble the first time around as they won 99-68 at War Memorial Gymnasium in early January.
San Francisco is led by Kruize Pinkins and Mark Tollefsen. Pinkins is averaging 15.3 points on 51.2 percent shooting from the floor to go along with 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists while Tollefsen contributes 14.3 points on 52.6 percent shooting as well as 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Jay Yeomans is a courier by day and a freelance writer by night. He is the creator and lead writer of the website jmoneysports.com. Contact him at jmoney34@hotmail.com. Twitter: @jmoneysports