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The University of Utah Athletics
Saturday, February 24
Salt Lake City
1:00 PM MT
University of Utah
82
vs
75
BYU
Utes Down BYU, Move Into First Place In Mountain West
2/24/2001 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2001
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) It may have taken awhile but guard Kevin Bradley thinks Utah is peaking at just the right time.
Bradley came off the bench to score 18 points and Britton Johnsen added 15 to lift the Utes over Brigham Young 82-75 and into first place in the Mountain West Conference Saturday.
"We're finally seeing it come together for us right when it matters most. We all told each other during one of the time outs we weren't lose everything we've worked for today," Bradley said.
Chris Burgess had 14 points and Nick Jacobson scored all 13 of his points in the second half as Utah (18-9, 9-3 MWC) won its seventh game in a row after a three-game losing streak in late January.
"People had written us off when we were 3-3 in the league but nothing good in life comes easy and the kids have earned the place they are now through some real tough times. They have worked so hard to taste this sweet success," Utah acting coach Dick Hunsaker said.
Trent Whiting, a transfer from Utah, paced BYU (19-8, 8-4 MWC) with 22 points and Eric Nielsen contributed a season-high 16 on 6-of-6 shooting.
Bolstered by 57-percent shooting, Utah won its seventh straight home game against BYU and snapped a two-game skid versus the Cougars.
"Utah was having their way with us on offense. There's no way we can beat a team as good as Utah when we fail to defend," BYU coach Steve Cleveland said.
On the other side, Utah's defense controlled BYU's two leading scorers all game long. Mekeli Wesley had just four points on 1-of-8 from the field and Terrell Lyday had 14 points but shot just 3-of-12.
"We focused on Wesley all week in practice and we knew we needed to stop him to give us a chance to win," Johnsen said.
Utah's lead was trimmed to 60-56 before Jacobson hit his third 3-pointer of the second half and Burgess made a jumper in the lane to give Utah a 65-56 lead with 4:14 remaining.
"I've been practicing my whole life to make shots like that in big games like this," said Jacobson, who made 5-of-6 from the field.
Britton Johnsen beat the shot clock with a jumper, and after a Nate Cooper free throw, Bradley sank a bank shot to up Utah's lead to 69-59 with 1:44 to play.
The Utes made 13-of-16 free throws in the last 1:27 to give Utah its 44th consecutive home win in conference play, the nation's longest streak.
Utah and BYU now are locked at 115 wins each in their storied rivalry.
The game was tight throughout, with Utah's biggest lead of the second half (50-39) coming on Jacobson's 3-pointer with 14:57 left to play.
The Utes shot 61 percent from the field in the first half on their way to a 41-34 halftime lead.
Bradley scored 11 points in the half and Utah dominated on the boards 18-9 and in the paint, outscoring the Cougars 16-2.
If the Utes win the remaining two games on the road against Air Force and New Mexico, they will claim at least a share of their seventh straight league title.
"It's gratifying to see how far this team has come and to see the kids emerge with the kind of confidence they displayed today," said Hunsaker, who took over for the ailing Rick Majerus after the first game of the season.
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