BYU basketball gives up 10 3s, 12 turnovers in road loss to Cincinnati

CINCINNATI — Another opportunity for a Quad 1 win over Cincinnati on the road (NET No. 51) slipped through the fingers of the BYU men's basketball team Saturday evening.

Or more accurately, the Cougars turned it over.

Jizzle James poured in 24 points with six 3-pointers, and Cincinnati scored 24 points off 12 turnovers en route to a 84-66 win over BYU in front of a sold-out crowd at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Day Day Thomas added 15 points with four assists for Cincinnati (14-9, 4-8 Big 12), which shot 59% from the field and 10-of-20 from the perimeter.

Richie Saunders had 15 points to lead BYU, and Egor Demin added 12 points and two assists for the Cougars (15-8, 6-6 Big 12).

Dawson Baker added 9 points and three rebounds off the bench, and Mihailo Boskovic scored 8 points with two 3-pointers in the second half for BYU, which was outrebounded 32-17 even as both teams shot 47% or better.

But the Bearcats held BYU to just 8-of-24 shooting (33.3%) in the second half, outscoring the Cougars 45-24 after the break to pick up a second-straight win after snapping a four-game losing skid earlier in the week against West Virginia.

"James and Thomas were an incredible display of shot making," BYU first-year coach Kevin Young told BYU Radio. "You've got to give them a lot of credit. For me, our offense really let us down, especially in the second half.

"They just kind of turned our water off in the second half. … A disappointing effort by our group in the second half, for sure."

The Bearcats connected on eight of their first 10 shots from the field, including a second-chance 3-pointer from Josh Reed that capped a 13-2 run to lift the hosts to a 22-13 lead less than eight minutes into the first half.

There weren't many rebounds to go around early, but Cincinnati collected four of the first five to pace and nine overall in the first half where both teams shot better than 59% from the field.

Cincinnati cooled off, and BYU chipped away at the 9-point deficit. Mawot Mag found Keba Keita to pull BYU as close as 31-28 with 7:13 on the clock, and the Bearcats went more than five minutes scoreless down the stretch before Demin drained a 3-pointer and the ensuing free throw with 4 seconds remaining to give BYU a 42-39 halftime advantage.

James scorched the nets with four first-half triples. But the sophomore guard had just one field goal since subbing out with 8:12 to go until the break.

"We caught our rhythm offensively," Young said. "Egor was getting downhill, and Dawson made some shots. But in this league, which is such a competitive league, you can't let up. You've got to continue to push the gas; I felt like there was some let-up from our group in the second half."

But BYU's old nemesis — the turnover — sprung a massive run midway through the second half. That's when Cincinnati used five takeaways to spring an 18-0 run, holding the Cougars scoreless for more than six minutes en route to a 61-44 lead seven minutes into the second half.

BYU had just 7 points in the first nine minutes of the second half as the Bearcats took control with a 20-5 run capped on balanced scoring.

Boskovic connected on two of his first three attempts of the second half and added an assist, including a 3-pointer to pull the Cougars within 66-58 with 8:06 remaining.

"Of course, we wanted to get the lead back. I felt like we started great in that little stretch there," Boskovic told BYU Radio. "At one point, we hit two threes in a row and I thought we had good momentum. But they endured it, and made shots of their own.

"Props to them today; they played very gritty. I felt like we did what we were supposed to do on defense, but they played really good on offense. It's their home court; they're always going to play better on their home court."

But Cincinnati responded with a 9-2 run as James connected on his sixth 3-pointer moments later to pull away for good to hand the Cougars a second consecutive loss.

BYU continues its two-game road trip Tuesday at West Virginia (5 p.m. MST, CBS Sports Network).

"It was a tough game," Boskovic said of the loss. "But we have to bounce back, and we have an opportunity for that Tuesday against West Virginia. It's important to just stay locked.

"Big 12 Conference, it's a tough conference. From what I've seen here, it might be one of the best in college basketball. Every game is a grind; there are no easy games. You can't let your guard down at any time."

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