Allen helps Runnin' Utes overturn 16-point deficit to top rival BYU in overtime

SALT LAKE CITY — BYU basketball’s rivalry winning streak on the hardwood is over.

Utah’s Timmy Allen scored a team-high 27 points to help the Runnin’ Utes overturn a 16-point second-half deficit and rally to snap a two-game losing streak to rival BYU with a 102-95 win in overtime Wednesday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Utes never led in regulation, but took their first lead in overtime behind freshman Rylan Jones’ 8 points in the five-minute period.

Jones tied the game at 86-86 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 22 seconds remaining to force overtime. The Cougars failed to convert a game-winning attempt on their final possession. Jones, who starred at nearby Olympus High, finished with 25 points and six assists in his first rivalry game for the Utes (6-2).

Utah outscored the Cougars (6-4) 16-9 in overtime to hold on for the win.

Allen, who also had four assists, hit a pair of game-tying free throws with 1:59 left on the clock to help bring Utah back. The Utes took their first lead of the game when Jaxon Brenchley hit a pair of free throws on the first possession of overtime.

Allen gave the Utes their largest lead of the game by finishing off a pass in the paint from Jones with 2:56 remaining in OT, and Jones made it a 6-point margin with a fadeaway jumper on the next possession.

Utah’s Mikael Jantunen added 18 points and six rebounds and Riley Battin added 14 points and three steals to pace the Utes to a 53-45 second-half and a 16-9 overtime lead. Battin provided a spark for the Utes late in the second half with back-to-back steals to shift the momentum into Utah’s favor as the team chipped away at BYU’s lead.

“We stayed in the moment,” Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “That was a heck of a fight all the way through.”

Yoeli Childs poured in 29 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars, and Jake Toolson added 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists for BYU. Dalton Nixon had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench for the Cougars, but fouled out — along with TJ Haws — in a game that featured 46 fouls in 45 minutes of regulation.

Childs left the game early with an undisclosed calf injury after returning from an NCAA-mandated nine-game suspension. BYU coach Mark Pope could not provide an update on the extent of Childs' injury.

“We just kind of stayed in the grind and had one less weapon that we had to be concerned with, which certainly was a factor in the game,” Krystkowiak said.

In Childs’ first game back, the senior forward started off the game by making three consecutive 3-pointers to pace BYU to a 16-point lead in the first half. Childs finished the half with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.

Utah struggled in the first half to combat BYU’s hot hand from behind the 3-point line as the Cougars shot 67% from deep on 8-of-12 shooting. The Utes didn’t make their first 3-pointer, a transition 3-pointer by freshman Jones, until there were two minutes left in the first half. Utah finished the half shooting 1 of 7 from behind the arc.

The Utes were outrebounded by the Cougars (33-28), but got a lot of scoring done in the paint to outscore BYU 62-38. The Utes outshot BYU from the free-throw line, 31-17, and made 24 foul shots to the Cougars' 13.

But Pope didn't blame the officiating, even when asked about it after the game. There were too many other uncharacteristic moments for BYU, which was outscored 31-7 on the fast break and 28-23 off the bench.

"I thought the officials were amazing," said Pope, maintaining as straight a face as possible in an obvious ploy of sarcasm. "That's probably the best crew that’s ever set foot on the planet. I’ll tell you this: a really brave and courageous crew. That crew, I would take them every single game; they’re amazing."

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