BYU’s 14-Game Home Win Streak Ends With Loss To Texas Tech
Jan 7, 2025, 9:27 PM
PROVO, Utah – For the first time under head coach Kevin Young, BYU basketball lost a game inside the Marriott Center.
BYU lost to Texas Tech 72-67 on Tuesday. The loss drops BYU to 1-2 in Big 12 play, ending the Cougars’ 14-game home win streak at the Marriott Center.
Texas Tech defeats BYU, 72-67
Final: Texas Tech 72, BYU 67
BYU’s 14-game home winning streak at the Marriott Center comes to a close.
Cougs fall to 1-2 in Big 12 play. pic.twitter.com/nfEhiA0CII
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 8, 2025
BYU’s offense struggled throughout the night, shooting 44% from the field, 22% from three, and 57% from the free throw line.
It was a defensive battle for the first 32 minutes, but in the final eight, Tech’s offense came to life as they knocked down nine of their final 13 field goal attempts.
Tech’s Elijah Hawkins led all scorers with 22 points, followed by Darrion Williams, dropping 18, and Chance McMillan with 16.
BYU’s leading scorer was Fousseyni Traore, off the bench with 14 points. Egor Demin reached double figures with 12 points.
First Half
13:32 —The early portion of the game was intense, like an NCAA Tournament game. It was back and forth. Texas Tech made three 3-pointers, led by Minnesota Elijah Hawkins, who made a pair. BYU was 0-for-4 from three in the opening minutes.
Feels like an NCAA Tournament game.
Texas Tech jumps out to an early 14-10 lead with 13:32 remaining in the first half.
BYU is doing most of its work in the paint (8 points), while Tech has knocked down three 3-pointers.
BYU has missed four consecutive free throws.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 8, 2025
The Cougars struggled from the free-throw line. Kanon Catchings missed two, and Keba Keita missed another pair. Texas Tech 14, BYU 10.
11:02 – BYU brought in four players from the second unit to pair up with Dallin Hall. The offense was stalled. However, BYU’s defense kept Texas Tech at 0-for-4 on the other end. Before the media timeout, officials called a loose ball out of bounds on BYU, which led to Kevin Young talking to the officials. Tech 14, BYU 12.
7:55 – Of course, in a game where both teams average more than 80 points per game, it’s a grind on the offensive end. Egor Demin was off to a 1-of-5 start from the field, with two of his attempts rolling off the rim on drives to the basket. Tech 18, BYU 17.
6:43 – Dallin Hall put together a 6-0 of his own to put BYU in front. Hall knocked down BYU’s first three after Mawot Mag handed it off to the junior guard for an open three. Then he hit a free throw and on the possession after that, he knocked down a contested layup. Tech’s Grant McCasland then called a timeout. BYU 23, Tech 20.
Kevin Young was FIRED up after that Dallin Hall driving lay-up.
Nearly met Hall at midcourt for a chest bump. He’s clearly liking the early aggression from his point guard. #BYU #BYUhoops
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) January 8, 2025
3:50 – BYU is struggling to hit free throws and threes. The Cougars were 4-of-10 from the charity stripe and 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. BYU 25, Tech 25.
Half – Trey Stewart checked into the game late in the first half as he did against Arizona State a week ago for defense. Instead of contributions solely on defense, he closes out the half with a buzzer-beater three to give BYU the lead at the break.
That was Trey Stewart’s first field goal attempt since December 3 at Providence.
It was only his second made field goal of the season (Nov. 23, Mississippi Valley State).
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 8, 2025
That was Stewart’s second field goal this season. He hit a three against Mississippi Valley State on November 23.
Before Stewart’s bucket, BYU was on another two-minute drought that coincided with a 5-0 run from Tech’s Darrion Williams. Williams led all scorers at the halftime break with 10.
Half: BYU 34, Texas Tech 32
Nine BYU players scored in the first half, led by Fousseyni Traore with 7 points.
Texas Tech’s Darrion Williams leads all scorers with 10 points.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 8, 2025
BYU 34, Texas Tech 32
Second Half
15:25 – Both teams combined to shoot 0-for-8 from three-point range to open the second half. Egor Demin had a nice and-one opportunity on a fastbreak. BYU’s separation was courtesy of a second chance opportunity created by Richie Saunders, who found Mawot Mag cutting to the rim.
There was a funny moment from fans at the 16:50 mark; they started to boo Texas Tech’s Chance McMillan after he made his second free throw attempt following a miss. If he had missed both, the entire arena would have received free Chick-fil-A. BYU 39, Texas Tech 37
11:17 – BYU capitalized on a missed three where Christian Anderson was wide open. No one from BYU was close to defending him. He missed the shot that would have put Tech up by four.
Instead, Egor Demin put together a pair of assists on the next two possessions, finding Fousseyni Traore for a layup and Dawson Baker for a three on the wing. BYU 49, Tech 45.
10:30 – Texas Tech’s Elijah Hawkins knocked down a three to cut down BYU’s lead to one. BYU 49, Tech 48.
6:59 – Hawkins and McMillan hit back-to-back threes for Texas Tech, leading to BYU’s Kevin Young to call a timeout. Tech 54, BYU 53.
3:23 – Texas Tech’s offense woke up and was gaining momentum. McMillan and Williams each had five points a piece. One of Darrion Williams’ buckets was on the heels of a Mawot Mag make for BYU that had the Marriott Center crowd on its feet. Williams hit a shot that instantly sent fans back into their seats. The Red Raiders hit six of their last eight field goals. Tech 63, BYU 58.
Final: Texas Tech 72, BYU 67
Up Next for BYU Basketball
BYU goes back on the road to the Lone Star State this Saturday to face TCU. It will be BYU’s first trip to Ft. Worth since 2011 when the two programs were together in the Mountain West Conference.
Like BYU, TCU is 1-2 in Big 12 after falling to Houston in the Fertitta Center on Monday.
Tip-off for BYU at TCU is at Noon (MST) on ESPN2 and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM).
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
