BYU’s Furious Comeback Falls Just Short Against No. 1 Arizona in Marriott Center Thriller
PROVO, Utah - Down 19 points with under 11 minutes to play, the No. 13 BYU Cougars nearly pulled off the unthinkable against the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats. Fueled by a barrage of second-half threes and relentless hustle, BYU clawed all the way back to within a single point in the final seconds before falling just short, 86-83, in front of a roaring home crowd at the Marriott Center on Monday night.
This one had all the makings of a classic - a marquee matchup, a top-15 team refusing to fold, and a final minute packed with drama. And while the Cougars didn’t get the result they wanted, they walked off the floor with their heads held high, having pushed the nation’s best team to the brink.
“We were down 10 with a minute to go, which is insane,” head coach Kevin Young said postgame. “But it says a lot about our team - the fight.
We’ve spent a lot of time on situational things, and I thought we executed about as good as you can to overcome that type of deficit. There’s a lot we can take away from this.”
Second-Half Surge Sparks Hope
The comeback effort was sparked by sophomore guard Kennard Davis Jr., who caught absolute fire from beyond the arc. Davis Jr. went a perfect 5-of-5 from deep in the second half, finishing with 15 points - all after the break - and giving BYU the jolt it needed to make things interesting.
Richie Saunders was a steady force all night. The senior poured in 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including three triples, and added nine rebounds, two assists, and a steal. His veteran presence was evident during the Cougars’ late push.
But the engine behind BYU’s offense once again was AJ Dybantsa. The freshman phenom from Brockton, Mass. dropped 24 points, his 14th 20-point game of the season, while also dishing out five assists, grabbing four boards, and swiping a steal. Whether he was creating for himself or setting up teammates, Dybantsa was at the center of nearly every key moment in the second half.
A Tale of Two Halves
Early on, it was a back-and-forth affair. The teams traded buckets, with Saunders and Dybantsa keeping BYU in rhythm. A Mihailo Boskovic block and a transition three gave the Cougars a brief lead, and their defense locked in, holding Arizona without a field goal for over five minutes midway through the first half.
But the tide turned quickly. Turnovers - a recurring issue in the opening 20 minutes - came back to bite BYU.
Arizona capitalized with a 12-1 run, flipping a tie game into a nine-point lead. That cushion grew to 13 by halftime, with the Wildcats heading into the locker room up 44-31.
Momentum Shifts, BYU Responds
The second half opened with a spark. Treyson Wright III hit a jumper in the paint, then secured a defensive rebound and found Davis Jr. for a three.
Moments later, Davis hit another from the wing. Just like that, the deficit was trimmed to single digits.
BYU’s defense strung together stops, and Dybantsa added four quick points with a pull-up and a dunk. But Arizona answered with a 9-0 run, led by Tobe Awaka, to push the lead back to 19 with 10:53 remaining - a gut punch that could’ve ended it.
Instead, the Cougars responded with a flurry from deep. Davis Jr. and Aleksej Kostic combined for three triples over five possessions, two of them assisted by Dybantsa. Saunders added a step-back three to cap the run, and suddenly the Marriott Center was alive again.
Dybantsa found Davis Jr. for his fifth three of the night to cut the lead to 10 - the closest it had been since the early minutes of the half. Arizona’s Jaden Bradley temporarily halted the momentum with a bucket, but BYU kept coming.
Saunders nailed another three from the wing to bring BYU within seven. After a pair of Arizona free throws, Dybantsa was fouled and hit one of two at the line. Saunders grabbed the miss, and Wright III drilled a three to keep the Cougars within striking distance.
Then came the chaos.
Keba Keita scored on a second-chance layup and drew a foul. He missed the free throw, but the rebound scramble led to a Flagrant 1 on Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov. Dybantsa sank both free throws, and just like that, the Cougars were within four.
Wright III fouled Brayden Burries, who split his free throws. On the next possession, Wright III found Keita for a thunderous alley-oop dunk, cutting it to three. Arizona was then called for an offensive foul, and Keita scored again to make it a one-point game with under 20 seconds left.
Wright III forced a turnover with 12 seconds remaining - a golden opportunity to steal the game. But his go-ahead jumper was blocked, and Arizona sealed the win at the line.
Takeaways from a Statement Effort
It’s not often you walk away from a loss feeling like a team proved something, but that’s exactly what BYU did on Monday night. Against the No. 1 team in the country, the Cougars showed they can hang with anyone. The offense clicked late, the defense dug deep, and the poise in crunch time was unmistakable.
Yes, the comeback fell just short. But for Kevin Young’s squad, this was more than just a near-miss - it was a measuring stick. And if they can bottle that second-half energy, the Cougars are going to be a tough out come March.