BYU basketball secures another resume-building win with a road victory over UCF

BYU basketball has another road victory under their belt with a self-assuring win against UCF in Orlando. BYU's first four-game conference winning streak in the last four seasons, and that includes the WCC Dark Ages (thanks for that stat, Robby). Now with two straight quad-one Ws, the Cougars are *finally* building a serious NCAA Tournament Resume.

Are you taking notes, Joe Lunardi?

BYU vs UCF game score and recap

Kevin Young led his squad into Orlando with a goal to build on the Cougars' hot streak, despite the Golden Knights' home court being notorious for grueling defensive staring contests. BYU didn't blink in a hotly contested matchup, hitting 43% of their 3-pointers and stacking 81 points against their hosts--the highest total for a visitor since the Jayhawks' January 5th romp to the tune of 99-48. Youch.

Richie Saunders once again led the way on offense, filling up a team-high 22 points on 8/14 shooting including 6 3-pointers. Knell and Mag joined in on the fun to add 7 long-balls of their own.

Egor Demin struggled this afternoon, only making one of his 3 attempts from beyond the arc to reach his points total of... 3. Adding in 6 assists is some sweet spice for his box score recipe, but his 5 giveaways nearly negates his efforts in that area. Still a terrific distributor, Demin needs to learn to handle pressure with more grace in future matchups.

This 3-ball came at a very opportune moment for the Cougs, though, so props to Egor here.

Speaking of lacking grace, Kanon Catchings reverted back to the mean to a drastic degree by laying a goose egg on the scoring sheet. A tough pill to swallow following a career performance against an arguably tougher Baylor squad.

The Knights battled throughout this matchup, and while BYU held the lead for most of the second half, UCF was never more than two possessions away from knotting the score or taking the lead themselves.

They simply wouldn't go away, and a portion of the blame must belong to the Cougars' inability to make a foul shot. Another poor result from the stripe should concern anyone hoping this team makes a run in the postseason. 57.9% from the free throw line leaves the door open in games like this, where the Cougars can't pull away from a tenacious opposition.

Mawot Mag enjoyed a terrific game in this one, though, notching a career-best 5 assists to pair with his 3 hits from deep. Already an excellent defender, Mag continues to show his worth as we advance through the season, and really showed out for this one.

Keba Keita, a player I've been critical of in the past, proved that clutch performances aren't exclusive to the offensive side of the ball as he emphatically protected his goal with two malicious swats in the final 20 seconds of the game. UCF seriously didn't have a chance on either of these two attempts. Huge denials by the BYU big, these are the moments that prove his tremendous value to Kevin Young's roster.

Nasty.

Though it wasn't easy--nothing is in the Big 12 Conference--the Cougars are once again heading home with a victory. That has to be a good feeling.

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