Utah Valley pulls away in OT, stuns No. 12 BYU 72-65
AP
Dec 02, 2021
OREM, Utah (AP) Fardaws Aimaq had 24 points and 22 rebounds, Justin Harmon also scored 24 points and Utah Valley Wolverines stunned No. 12 BYU 72-65 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Connor Harding added 10 points for the Wolverines (7-1), who beat the Cougars for the second time in school history - the first win was in 2016.
Utah Valley allowed BYU to make just five total baskets during the final eight minutes of regulation and overtime. The Wolverines forced 15 turnovers, including 11 steals.
''We adjusted to how they play,'' Aimaq said. ''We have a little saying called EFN: energy, fight, nastiness. We brought that tonight and came out with a win.''
Alex Barcello led BYU (6-1) with 17 points and 11 rebounds, Spencer Johnson added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Seneca Knight and Te'Jon Lucas scored 10 points apiece.
The Cougars shot a season-low 32% from the field.
''We have a lot to learn and a lot to grow and some younger guys who need to grow fast and we will,'' BYU coach Mark Pope said. ''We're not going to move through this gauntlet without being exposed a couple of times. It's good for us and it's helping with what we need to do.''
After Johnson sent the game to overtime with a layup just before the buzzer, Utah Valley took control in the extra period. Aimaq hit a 3-pointer with 2:43 left to put the Wolverines ahead to stay, kicking off a 10-0 run over the next 2 minutes. His free throw made it 67-59 with 43 seconds remaining.
Utah Valley held BYU without a field goal over a 2 1/2 minute stretch.
''We have a group that loves defense,'' Wolverines coach Mark Madsen said.
Utah Valley went 12 of 16 from the free-throw line in overtime and attempted only five shots.
Lucas hit a pair of free throws to give BYU its largest lead at 50-43 with 4:13 remaining in regulation. Then the Cougars went cold. Harmon, Aimaq and Tim Fuller scored on three consecutive possessions to put Utah Valley ahead 54-51 with 16.7 seconds left.
UGLY START
Utah Valley missed its first 13 field-goal attempts before Harmon scored back-to-back fast-break layups off steals eight minutes into the first half.
BYU wasn't much better early. The Cougars missed 14 of their first 18 shots from the field and shot 31% overall in the first half.
BAXTER HURT
BYU lost senior forward Gavin Baxter to another season-ending injury. Baxter played only four minutes before he tore the ACL in his left knee early in the first half.
For Baxter, this is the third consecutive season he has suffered a major injury. He has appeared in 15 games for the Cougars in that stretch.
OVERTIME PERFECTION
Utah Valley moved to 4-0 in overtime games this season. The Wolverines also beat Pepperdine, Long Beach State and Denver in OT.
Utah Valley's players were confident after time expired in regulation.
''Nothing was discussed,'' Aimaq said. ''All we said was, `If it's going to overtime, we're going to win.'''
BIG PICTURE
Utah Valley: Few shots fell for the Wolverines over 45 minutes, but they hung tough by playing rugged defense and crashing the glass. Utah Valley will be a tough out in the Western Athletic Conference.
BYU: The Cougars started slow on offense for a second straight game. Once again, tough defense gave BYU time to hit a few shots at critical junctures after halftime. The Cougars could not get anything done until Johnson's tying basket, missing 11 straight shots over an eight-minute stretch, and faltered again in overtime.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
An ugly loss against an underrated Utah Valley team will drop BYU in the AP Top 25.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley hosts Yellowstone Christian on Friday.
BYU visits Missouri State on Saturday.
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1st Half
BYU
Cougars
24
UTVA
Wolverines
22
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Gavin Baxter vs. Fardaws Aimaq (Wolverines gains possession)
19:47
Seneca Knight blocks Connor Harding's two point layup
19:45
Alex Barcello defensive rebound
19:27
Te'Jon Lucas misses two point jump shot
19:25
Fardaws Aimaq defensive rebound
19:07
Le'Tre Darthard misses two point jump shot
19:05
Seneca Knight defensive rebound
18:58
+2
Seneca Knight makes two point jump shot (Te'Jon Lucas assists)
2-0
18:32
Connor Harding misses two point layup
18:30
Gavin Baxter defensive rebound
18:15
Caleb Lohner misses two point hook shot
18:13
Fardaws Aimaq defensive rebound
18:00
Fardaws Aimaq misses two point layup
17:58
Alex Barcello defensive rebound
17:53
Alex Barcello misses two point jump shot
17:51
Fardaws Aimaq defensive rebound
17:39
Connor Harding misses three point jump shot
17:37
Caleb Lohner defensive rebound
17:30
Caleb Lohner misses three point jump shot
17:28
Blaze Nield defensive rebound
17:10
Blaze Nield misses two point floating jump shot
17:08
Alex Barcello defensive rebound
16:54
Seneca Knight misses two point jump shot
16:52
Caleb Lohner offensive rebound
16:47
Caleb Lohner misses two point jump shot
16:45
Seneca Knight offensive rebound
16:31
Alex Barcello misses two point jump shot
16:29
Fardaws Aimaq defensive rebound
16:09
Seneca Knight shooting foul (Connor Harding draws the foul)
16:09
+1
Connor Harding makes regular free throw 1 of 2
2-1
16:09
+1
Connor Harding makes regular free throw 2 of 2
2-2
15:56
Te'Jon Lucas misses two point fadeaway jump shot
15:54
Fardaws Aimaq defensive rebound
15:43
Connor Harding misses two point jump shot
15:41
Fousseyni Traore defensive rebound
15:27
Tim Fuller shooting foul (Caleb Lohner draws the foul)
15:27
TV timeout
15:11
+3
Spencer Johnson makes three point jump shot (Caleb Lohner assists)
5-2
14:46
Fardaws Aimaq misses two point turnaround jump shot
14:44
Alex Barcello defensive rebound
14:27
+2
Te'Jon Lucas makes two point driving layup
7-2
14:00
Blaze Nield misses three point jump shot
13:58
Alex Barcello defensive rebound
13:53
Le'Tre Darthard personal foul (Alex Barcello draws the foul)
13:45
+2
Alex Barcello makes two point driving layup
9-2
13:31
Le'Tre Darthard misses three point jump shot
13:29
Alex Barcello defensive rebound
13:24
Seneca Knight misses two point jump shot
13:22
Fousseyni Traore offensive rebound
13:16
Justin Harmon blocks Fousseyni Traore's two point layup
13:14
Fardaws Aimaq defensive rebound
13:06
Tim Ceaser turnover (bad pass) (Seneca Knight steals)
13:04
Justin Harmon personal foul
12:55
Spencer Johnson turnover (bad pass) (Fardaws Aimaq steals)
12:43
Fardaws Aimaq misses three point jump shot
12:41
Spencer Johnson defensive rebound
12:30
Spencer Johnson misses three point jump shot
12:28
Tim Ceaser defensive rebound
12:16
Seneca Knight blocks Justin Harmon's two point jump shot
12:16
Tim Ceaser offensive rebound
12:16
Trevin Knell blocks Tim Ceaser's two point layup
12:14
Seneca Knight defensive rebound
12:04
Spencer Johnson turnover (lost ball) (Tim Ceaser steals)
11:57
+2
Justin Harmon makes two point layup
9-4
11:57
TV timeout
11:43
Te'Jon Lucas turnover (bad pass) (Fardaws Aimaq steals)
11:37
+2
Justin Harmon makes two point layup
9-6
11:10
Trevin Knell misses three point jump shot
11:08
Jaden McClanahan defensive rebound
10:55
Fardaws Aimaq misses three point jump shot
10:53
Fousseyni Traore defensive rebound
10:38
Seneca Knight misses two point jump shot
10:36
Justin Harmon defensive rebound
10:17
+2
Fardaws Aimaq makes two point turnaround jump shot (Le'Tre Darthard assists)
9-8
10:00
Fousseyni Traore misses two point hook shot
9:58
Fardaws Aimaq defensive rebound
9:49
+3
Justin Harmon makes three point step back jump shot (Fardaws Aimaq assists)
9-11
9:16
+3
Trevin Knell makes three point jump shot (Alex Barcello assists)
12-11
8:58
Tim Ceaser turnover (bad pass) (Spencer Johnson steals)