Late game comeback not enough as BYU men’s basketball loses at West Virginia

It was a must-win game for the BYU men’s basketball program after a lopsided loss against UCF, but unfortunately for the Cougars, they couldn't break through.

BYU lost 79-71 behind strong scoring games from West Virginia seniors Honor Huff and Brenen Lorient.

Whenever the Cougars seemed to be gaining momentum, West Virginia answered, extending the lead.

BYU got the game to within three points in the final minutes, but West Virginia seemed to score on this BYU defense at will.

It was Huff, who led the Mountaineers in scoring, dropping 19 points and responding whenever BYU got it close.

This Cougar team needed a win desperately, with their NCAA tournament predictions getting worse and worse by the game. Coach Kevin Young will have to win the final two games of the season to feel confident about BYU’s seed line.

Star BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa struggled in this game, but showed flashes of his NBA potential, draining an NBA-esque three pointer to cut the lead to three with two minutes left, a bright spot in his otherwise rough game for the freshman.

Dybantsa saw a plethora of bodies in this game, foreshadowing how teams will play him the rest of the season.

The Cougars continued their theme of playing a poor first half, getting themselves into an insurmountable hole; making the second half extremely difficult.

BYU went into the second half down 40-26, not having scored a field goal in the final eight minutes.

BYU had nine turnovers in the first half and West Virginia held Dybantsa to just four points, completely taking him out of the game.

BYU gave up 18 offensive rebounds, giving the Mountaineers plenty of opportunities.

This has continued to be an issue for BYU, allowing its opponents to get second-chance points.

Rob Wright’s play was one of the lone bright spots in the first half with 14 points, barely keeping the Cougars close. Wright finished with 23 points, breaking out of his slump impacting his recent play.

The ACL injury to Richie Saunders has proved to be a challenge. It’s opened the door for the ‘others’ on this BYU team to make bigger contributions, but that hasn’t been consistent night-to-night.

Young will have to rummage around to find answers in these next two games, giving his team a small margin for error.

Aleksej Kostic provided a scoring burst going 4-of-7 from three adding 12 points; but his lack of size and inconsistent defensive effort contributed to BYU’s struggles.

Keba Keita made a big impact down the stretch for BYU, playing incredible defense and catching an impressive lob by Wright but ultimately wasn’t enough to help secure the win.

The Cougars have struggled in their last 10 games, going 4-6, struggling to compete in the deep and talented Big 12.

BYU, desperate for answers takes on Cincinnati on Tuesday, needing a win to restore hope on an otherwise up-and-down season.