Did No. 13 Cougars find their identity in gut-busting loss to No. 1 Arizona?

Freshman superstar AJ Dybantsa had the worst shooting night of his college career, maybe his entire basketball-playing career, in No. 13 BYU’s 86-83 loss to No. 1 Arizona on Monday night in front of more than 18,000 fans at the Marriott Center.

After going a frosty 6 of 24 from the field and 1 of 8 from 3-point range, however, the teenager said the silver lining in the gut-busting loss was that the Cougars learned a lot about themselves, and what it will take moving forward to beat the best teams in the country.

“We found our identity, that we’re going to fight to the end,” said Dybantsa, who still finished with a team-high 24 points. “We’re not gonna just fold when we’re down a certain amount of points. And that just proves that we can play with anybody in the (country). … It just shows what the possibilities (are) and what we can do in the future.”

When Motiejus Krivas punched home a dunk with 10:53 remaining, Arizona (21-0, 8-0) had a seemingly insurmountable 19-point lead, 64-45. The Cougars (17-3, 5-1) looked lifeless and beaten, despite having a huge crowd behind them trying to will them to shoot better, defend better, and cut down on the untimely mistakes that had led to at least a half-dozen easy Arizona baskets.

“They were up big, but we (showed) we can fight back and come back and then make it a one-possession game,” Dybantsa said.

Coming off his finest game as a collegian, a career-high 43 points in BYU’s 91-78 win over rival Utah in which he was 15 of 24 from the field, Dybantsa also mildly struggled at the free-throw line (11 of 16) and committed three turnovers.

What did Arizona, one of the best defensive teams in the country, do to hold down the possible No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft?

“Nothing,” Dybantsa said. “I missed shots. I missed shots I normally make. My middies (mid-range shots) weren’t falling. Wide open 3s on the sideline (didn’t go in). I just missed shots.”

After player-of-the-game Brayden Burries swatted away Rob Wright’s offering in the final seconds, much was made postgame of the fact that the ball was in the point guard’s hands, and not Dybantsa’s. BYU coach Kevin Young said Arizona “did a good job” of taking the first option away, which was Dybantsa, by “clogging the area” that the freshman was trying to get to.

“Rob got the ball, within 2 feet of the basket, and felt pretty good about that,” Young said. “Probably a little bit more time on the clock, they collapsed (around him). Maybe could have found something. But Rob’s a gamer. We saw it at the Garden (when he beat Clemson). I trust him in those moments.”

Wright also had one of his worst games as a Cougar, going 3 of 16 from the field for a season-low 7 points. His previous low was 9 against UC Riverside.

“Quite frankly, (Wright) and AJ, neither one of them really had it going,” Young said, noting that the third member of the Big 3, Richie Saunders, had fouled out with 50 seconds remaining. “But those are our guys. We are going to ride and die with them. … We got the ball in Rob’s hands to make a play.”

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Ironically, Burries was fortunate to be on the floor, because, with 35 seconds remaining, he grabbed Dybantsa to prevent a dunk and was assessed a flagrant 1 foul, rather than a flagrant 2, which would have disqualified him from the game.

“Rob just made a good play to get to the rim,” Dybantsa said. “Held the ball strong (when Jaden Bradley tried to strip him). Ref said it was a clean block (so) it was a clean block. It was a good opportunity. I think the way we fought was a little bit better, and I am just happy (with) the way we fought.”

“We found our identity, that we’re going to fight to the end. We’re not gonna just fold when we’re down a certain amount of points. And that just proves that we can play with anybody in the (country).”

—  BYU wing AJ Dybantsa

Obviously, the final play was not the reason the Cougars lost what was being billed as one of the most significant, if not the most significant, game at the Marriott Center in recent memory. BYU fouled too much, gave up too many transition buckets, and took a lot of ill-advised shots, particularly in the first half and a discouraging stretch in the second half from the 18-minute mark to the 10-minute mark before Kennard “Moo” Davis’ third of five 3-pointers started to reverse the momentum.

“As a whole, we didn’t execute as well as we would like to, but in that last little bit, we executed well,” said Saunders, who got off only 11 shots, making seven, against an Arizona defense designed to limit his touches. “So we gotta figure out how to just keep chipping away at making that 40 minutes instead of just good stretches here and there.”

Kennard ‘Moo’ Davis has a breakout game

Speaking of Davis, the Southern Illinois transfer was one of the few bright spots for the Cougars until the final few minutes. He was 2 of his previous 22 from 3-point range entering the game, and had not made one since the win at Utah on Jan. 10.

He missed his first three long-range attempts Monday, then made his final five.

“I don’t see how you can’t be (encouraged by Davis’ night),” Young said. “He’s had a rough go. He’s a tough kid, and he stepped up and made plays.”

Freshman Aleksej Kostic also broke out of a shooting slump, making two 3-pointers in the second half on back-to-back possessions to spur the comeback.

“Moo was bound to make some. He was due for it,” Saunders said. “He is an incredible shooter, and really happy that he could find that rhythm. And Aleksej, that’s what he does. You guys don’t get to see that all the time, but we do and we are proud of him for stepping up.”

Did Cougars gain some confidence in defeat?

The rematch is Feb. 18 in Tucson, but before that, the Cougars have to deal with No. 14 Kansas (5-2, 15-5) on Saturday in Lawrence. The Jayhawks crushed Kansas State 86-62 in Manhattan, Kansas, on Saturday and haven’t played since, so they will be well rested, and star freshman guard Darryn Peterson (ankle) is expected to play in a long-awaited showdown with Dybantsa.

“We’re right there with every team in the country. I thought that before the game. I think it just as much (now) as I did before the game.”

—  BYU coach Kevin Young

Young and Saunders said the Cougars’ confidence remains intact after taking the No. 1 team in the country down to the wire. It was the closest any team has played the Wildcats this season.

“We’re right there with every team in the country. I thought that before the game. I think it just as much (now) as I did before the game,” Young said. “It’s just all about improvement. That’s the bottom line. You got to learn from your mistakes. … In conference play, the margins are very small. You can’t make mistakes repeatedly. We got ourselves into a hole.

“Now give ourselves credit, because we did a great job in the second half of digging out of it. But that’s a long-winded way of saying I feel good about our stacking up with any team in this country.”