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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — BYU’s finish wasn’t much better than its start in Friday’s Big 12 men’s basketball semifinals.
LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp scorched the nets with 20 and 26 points, respectively, as No. 2 Houston tore through No. 17 BYU 74-54 to advance to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Keba Keita had 14 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks to lead BYU (24-9), Richie Saunders added 10 points and six rebounds, and Dawson Baker supplied 11 points off the bench in BYU’s first loss in nine games.
But the Cougars with the nine-game winning streak shot just 6-of-28 from 3-point range a day after making a tournament-record 18 triples against Iowa State, compared to 10 3-pointers for the Cougars riding an 11-game win streak.
Or make it an even dozen.
Playing without top rebounder J’Wan Roberts, who watched the game from the bench in sweats and a medical boot after suffering an ankle injury in the quarterfinals against Colorado, Houston (29-4) was out to validate its standing as a projected No. 1 seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament.
Boy, did they.
The red Cougars yielded the rebounding battle 39-37, but got enough for their needs from Mylik Wilson’s 13. They also got seven blocks, nine steals, and 12 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points.
But mostly, it was about the guards, including Milos Uzan’s 14 points and five assists in Houston’s 12th straight win.
BYU had more turnovers (4) and wedgies (2) than points before Baker broke the seal for the lower-seeded Cougars with 13:16 left in the half.
The former UC Irvine transfer converted a 3-point play at that moment as Houston opened the game on a 15-0 run in the first six minutes. It didn’t get much better, either.
Cryer had 12 points in the first half for Houston, including a 3-pointer in the final minute that helped the regular-season champs to a 13-2 run for a 41-20 halftime lead.
The mascots were the same, but Shasta wasn’t Cosmo as BYU shot just 6-of-30 from the field and 3-of-16 from the arc against a Houston team that had five blocks, five steals and converted nine turnovers into 11 points.
Saunders led BYU with 8 points and four rebounds at the break.
Houston led by as much as 21 early in the second half. Three lobs and back-to-back blocks on the defensive end by Keita spurred a comeback, and Saunders pulled BYU within 45-32 with a dunk in transition during a 12-4 spurt to start the half.
But Sharp ended the run with back-to-back 3-pointers to send BYU back home to await its NCAA Tournament selection Sunday afternoon.
This story will be updated.
