Cougars Upended at Utah State on Last-second Shot

LOGAN -- Spencer Nelson's driving layup with 1.2 seconds left ended BYU's comeback bid, giving Utah State a 76-74 victory over the Cougars on Tuesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

The loss ends BYU's six-game victory streak and gives the Cougars a 7-2 record on the year. With its one-point defeat at California, BYU's two setbacks this season have come by a combined three points.

The Aggies, now 6-1 on the year, jumped out to a 26-point lead in the first half by pressuring the Cougars and doubling down on Rafael Araujo. Araujo only touched the ball twice on offense in the first 11 minutes and finished the half with four points. Utah State also hit six three-pointers in the half.

BYU coach Steve Cleveland said the Aggies played with more urgency in the first half and dominated the first 20 minutes of the game.

"They had more energy than we did," Cleveland said. "They shot the ball and executed well. Obviously, we didn't play with the kind of energy that we would have liked in the first 20 minutes. Don't ever come to a game and have your opponent have more energy than you."

Trailing by 26 points, the Cougars did come out energized in the second half. They started the half scoring on six of their first seven possessions, including a three-pointer by Luiz Lemes and three baskets by Jared Jensen.

BYU continued to whittle down USU's lead, eventually tying the game on a driving layup by Mark Bigelow with 21 seconds left, but the Cougars weren't able to stop the Aggies on their next possession.

BYU's desperation attempt to tie the game on its last possession was halted when Nelson stole Lemes' length-of-the-court pass intended for Araujo.

Araujo led four Cougars in double figures with 16 points, followed by Mike Hall (15), Bigelow (14) and Jensen (10). Araujo posted his sixth double-double of the season by adding 10 rebounds and also dished out a career-high four assists. Nelson and Cardell Butler each totaled 19 points to lead Utah State.

The Cougars made 21-of-27 shots (.778) in the second half to shoot a season-high 62 percent for the game, but had their worst night at the free throw line in years, converting only 7-of-16 attempts, far below the team's typical touch (.725) this season from the charity stripe. The Aggies, conversely, made 16-of-20 free throws while shooting a solid 52 percent from the floor.

After Christmas, BYU will travel to Santa Clara, Calif., to play in the Cable Car Classic. The Cougars open with Idaho State Monday at 8 p.m. (PST) before facing either host Santa Clara or Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Tuesday at either 6 or 8 p.m. (PST).

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Brigham Young vs Utah State
12-23-03 8:05 pm at Logan, Utah (Dee Glen Smith Spectrum)
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VISITORS: Brigham Young 7-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
03 BIGELOW, Mark....... f  6-9    1-4    1-5    0  1  1   0  14  4  1  1  1  34
52 JENSEN, Jared....... f  5-7    0-0    0-1    1  0  1   3  10  0  0  1  0  12
55 ARAUJO, Rafael...... c  7-11   0-0    2-2    1  9 10   3  16  4  2  1  2  38
01 HALL, Mike.......... g  6-10   0-3    3-4    1  2  3   3  15  2  4  1  2  36
04 LEMES, Luiz......... g  3-7    2-4    0-0    0  3  3   3   8  5  2  1  1  35
00 WOODBERRY, Kevin....    2-3    1-2    0-2    0  1  1   2   5  1  1  0  3  23
02 ROSE, Mike..........    1-2    1-2    0-0    0  0  0   0   3  0  0  0  0   5
05 SHOFF, Jake.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  0  0  0   7
10 NASHIF, Terry.......    0-0    0-0    1-2    0  0  0   1   1  0  0  0  0   2
41 MEADS, Garner.......    1-1    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   1   2  0  2  0  0   8
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   31-50   5-15   7-16   4 17 21  18  74 16 12  5  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-23 43.5%   2nd Half: 21-27 77.8%   Game: 62.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-9  11.1%   2nd Half:  4-6  66.7%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half:  3-7  42.9%   Game: 43.8%   3,1
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HOME TEAM: Utah State 6-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
30 Williams, Jason..... f  1-2    1-1    0-0    0  1  1   2   3  0  2  0  0  19
32 Nelson, Spencer..... f  5-6    0-0    9-11   3  4  7   4  19  4  0  0  1  25
42 Ahmad, Mike......... c  2-4    0-0    1-1    0  3  3   1   5  0  3  1  0  23
15 Butler, Cardell..... g  8-14   3-5    0-0    1  1  2   4  19  1  2  0  0  33
20 Brown, Mark......... g  2-10   1-3    5-6    1  3  4   2  10  7  3  0  2  36
02 Harvey, Quenton.....    1-1    1-1    0-0    0  3  3   0   3  2  0  0  0   7
04 Harris, Nate........    5-9    0-0    1-2    2  4  6   0  11  3  1  0  5  31
23 Huber, Chris........    2-4    2-4    0-0    0  0  0   2   6  1  4  0  0  21
31 McVey, Ian..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
44 Evans, Chad.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   26-50   8-14  16-20   9 21 30  16  76 18 15  1  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 18-30 60.0%   2nd Half:  8-20 40.0%   Game: 52.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  6-10 60.0%   2nd Half:  2-4  50.0%   Game: 57.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-10 90.0%   2nd Half:  7-10 70.0%   Game: 80.0%    1
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Officials: Dick Cartmell (R), Randy McCall (U), Bob Staffen (U)
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-None. Utah State-None.
Attendance: 10270
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young.................   25   49  -   74
Utah State....................   51   25  -   76
Points in the paint-BY 30,UTAHST 24. Points off turnovers-BY 22,UTAHST 15.
2nd chance points-BY 6,UTAHST 7. Fast break points-BY 0,UTAHST 0.
Bench points-BY 11,UTAHST 20. Score tied-1 time. Lead changes-0 times.