SALT LAKE CITY — It wasn't a Nick Emery 3-pointer or an Eric Mika slam dunk that propelled the BYU Cougars to a 77-63 win over Utah State Wednesday night at Vivint Arena.

It was the fact that Utah State allowed 23 offensive rebounds and 20 second-chance points to the Cougars.

"Totally embarrassing performance physically," USU head coach Tim Duryea said. "Totally got out-toughed. The rebounding numbers that I have never seen before just totally got physically out-toughed."

There were two points in the game that the issue with rebounding really showed.

Right before halftime, Braiden Shaw, who doesn't see much time on the floor, recorded eight points off of four offensive rebounds. Shaw scored just two points the rest of the game.

In the second half with BYU leading 38-35, Davin Guinn missed a 3-point attempt but got his own rebound and kicked it out to Nick Emery, who missed a 3-point attempt. However, L.J. Rose got the offensive rebound and Davin Guinn missed another 3-pointer in the possession. Rose picked up his second offensive rebound and found Emery for a long 3-pointer to finally finish off the long possession. It was a summary of what the night was like for the Aggies.

"Just got out-toughed," USU senior Jalen Moore said. "They got more rebounds than us, and that was what affected us. I felt like we played good defense. We just didn't rebound."

It is the third straight loss for the Aggies and the final time that senior Jalen Moore had to hand BYU a loss in the rivalry. Unfortunately, Moore will finish his career 0-4 against the Cougars.

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Eric Mika had 20 points and six rebounds to help BYU snap a two-game losing streak with a 77-63 win over Utah State on Wednesday night at Vivint Arena.

"We talked before the game about trying to get Jalen a win over BYU," Duryea said. "He's only gotten to play them in the Spectrum one time out of four, and that's tough. Like I said, I thought the game was there to be had and we didn't take advantage of it."

But the story of the game was rebounding and the physical nature that BYU played with. The Cougars went to the free-throw line 25 times in the second half and made 21 of those attempts. They also recorded nine offensive boards to seal the win.

"I don't think we got any better tonight," Duryea said. "I don't think we improved. No, I don't see any redeeming qualities from the game. When you get that physically manhandled, as a team, that has nothing to do with one X or one O. That is all about heart and toughness and desire, and we didn't have enough of it."

Utah State will return to Logan for a Saturday night matchup against Indiana State in the Mountain West Conference/Missouri Valley Conference Challenge. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs and the Utah Valley University Wolverines. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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