This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

When the euphoria subsides after their 78-72 win over Utah State on Wednesday at the Marriott Center, the BYU Cougars will have to face this stark reality: They've got some work to do. The No. 23 Cougars did not play especially well, but eked out the win in front of 17,303 nail-biting fans. The Cougars shot just 38.7 percent from the field (24-for-62) and had just 12 assists. They were 7-for-26 from three-point range. Utah State was better inside, thanks to low-post monster Tai Wesley, and shot 48 percent (25-for-52). Poor free-throw shooting (15-for-26) was USU's downfall. As for BYU, the Cougars led by eight points (52-44) in the second half, but could never pull away. USU's largest lead was three, and lead changed hands nine times. BYU won the rebounding battle 40-37, but as USU coach Stew Morrill noted, a half-dozen of those seemingly came on one possession. "I think we can really build from this," BYU coach Dave Rose said. He also said the Cougars "took a big step forward." However, regarding USU's 34 points in the paint, Rose said, "We need to be tougher. We need to be more physical." ————————————- What was up with Brandon Davies? After starting against Fresno State, Davies did not enter the game until just 3:09 remained in the first half and played just one minute. He had a rebound, a foul and a turnover. Here's Rose's explanation: "It is a situation where we knew we were going to have to do some things with our post players to control their post, and just made a decision early in the week in our game plan that we weren't going to be able to play three [post] men. That there weren't going to be enough minutes unless someone got in foul trouble. I thought Chris and Noah did a really good job for the majority of the minutes. James [Anderson] came in and stepped in and helped us. It was just a matter of this game, we felt we were going to go just two deep in the center unless we got in foul trouble."———————————-Utah State fans will point to the intentional foul on Tai Wesley that took the USU big man out of the game with 2:04 remaining as a huge factor in the outcome. Jimmer Fredette said that officials warned the captains, including Wesley at midcourt before the game that they were going to watch closely for swinging elbows. "The refs even stressed it," Fredette said. The Cougars were just as unhappy with the foul that Jackson Emery picked up with around five minutes remaining in the first half, his third. USU's Tyler Newbold fooled the officials, kicking out his leg on a jumper, and Emery was headed to the bench. Emery finished with just 10 points in 24 minutes.