|
BYU MEN: Heartache greets BYU again in tourney |
|
|
|
|
JaredLloyd | Thursday, March 15, 2007, 11:16 pm
|
Darnell Dickson
DAILY HERALD
You can break it down a hundred different ways, but what’s the point?
The end result is just another one-and-done for the BYU men’s basketball team.
It’s so hard when so much is riding on one game out of the 34 the Cougars played in the 2006-07 season, because it was an excellent year. But losing in the first round is just another punch in the gut when it comes to the NCAA tournament.
The Cougars had their chances in Thursday’s 79-77 loss to Xavier.
Did they ever.
When it came down to crunch time, Xavier got clutch shots from 5-foot-7 Drew Lavender and Josh Duncan; BYU had two opportunities to tie but neither Austin Ainge nor Trent Plaisted could convert.
That’s basketball.
It never should have come to this. The Cougars squandered a nine-point second half lead because they couldn’t defend without fouling and sending the Musketeers to the foul line. Lee Cummard got into early foul trouble and didn’t get his rhythm back until late in the game. Keena Young showed up (24 points) and Mike Rose found the range from long distance.
Leading 73-71 with two minutes to play, BYU simply needed a stop, but couldn’t get one.
It will be no consolation today when college basketball experts call the BYU-Xavier game the “most entertaining” or “most competitive” of the first day. A loss means you’re going home.
Two days from now, the only people who will remember BYU are the heartbroken Cougar fans.
It’s almost as bad as losing to Utah.
Almost.
Going over what went wrong shows you the little things that make all the difference. The biggest moment may have been early in the second half when BYU had the nine-point lead and Xavier threw the ball away on two consecutive possessions. The Cougars failed to convert on either trip down the floor. An double-digit lead may have been much harder for Xavier to overcome.
BYU head coach Dave Rose said in the post-game news conference that Xavier just made one more play than BYU. That sounds strikingly similar to BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall just before his team turned the corner and posted an 11-2 season.
BYU fans can hold onto that until next season.
The Cougars finished 25-9, a strong second year for Rose. But he’s losing some key seniors.
Ainge, despite his defensive deficiencies, was a steadying influence, especially when Rashaun Broadus got kicked off the team. MWC MVP Keena Young was BYU’s best player all year long. Jimmy Balderson was inconsistent but had some big games. Mike Rose gave everyone some thrills with his 3-point shooting. Fernando Malaman turned out not to be a factor this year but surely made a positive contribution to the program.
Without those guys, can BYU make another run to the NCAA tournament? Can Cummard and Plaisted lead a 2007-08 team to such heights as to earn BYU’s first NCAA tournament victory since 1993?
Who knows? All that is for certain is that BYU’s loss hurts the program and the Mountain West Conference in the quest for respectability.
And spring football can’t come quickly enough. |
