Holy War: No. 9 BYU Beats Utah In A Thriller — Here’s The Reactions

The Holy War game between BYU and Utah is always cinema, and this year was no different, as the ninth-ranked Cougars held on for a thrilling 89-84 victory inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

It was BYU’s first road win at Utah since 2021, after the Cougars lost in overtime (73–72) last year and dropped another heartbreaker (73–69) in 2024. The win gives the Cougars their 12th consecutive victory, tying a program record.

It also got the monkey off their back as the team not only picked up a rivalry win, but also secured another important conference victory to remain unbeaten in league play to stay tied atop the conference standings with several other Top 10 Big 12 teams (Arizona, Iowa State, and Houston).

The win was special for Richie Saunders, as the BYU senior had never won at Utah after last year's heartbreaking overtime loss, followed by another down-to-the-wire finish the prior year before that.

Saunders scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and added a career-high 14 rebounds in the win as the senior's relentless effort gave the Cougars a number of extra offensive possessions which proved to be the difference. The senior wasn't going to let another win slip by at the Huntsman Center.

In addition, BYU's other stars that make up the "Big 3" continued to shine with Robert Wright III adding 23 points and six assists, with freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa chipping in with 20 points to go with six rebounds and four assists.

Utah's Terence Brown — who came in as the third leading scorer in Big 12 play — showed off his scoring moves as the junior made a variety of tough shots that kept the Utes within striking for much of the game. The speedster finished with 25 points, but turned the ball over with 8.9 seconds left to seal the win for the Cougars. The Utes also got plenty of offense from senior guard Don McHenry who added 21 points in the defeat. With the loss, the Runnin' Utes drop to 8-8 on the season and have now lost three in a row and are still winless in league play.

On the other side, the Cougars improve to 15-1 on the season and are now 9-0 when Saunders scores more than 20 points in a game. Speaking of 20, Dybantsa's 20-point game extends his streak to nine consecutive games of scoring more than 20+ points. The freshman sensation now moves into second place -- passing Kevin Durant -- and is now only behind Trae Young, who holds the record at 20 consecutive games while playing at Oklahoma.

Here's all the reactions from BYU's win over Utah on Saturday.

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