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Miami • The inaugural Miami Beach Bowl was played for the first time at balmy Marlins Park, a converted baseball stadium.

It could be played for 50 more and never top what went on Monday afternoon — during and after the game.

Playing in its first bowl game since 2008, Memphis took a 55-48 double-overtime win over BYU when DeShaugh Terry intercepted Christian Stewart's second-down pass while the Cougars were attempting to match an earlier touchdown. The play came after Memphis kicker Jake Elliott made a 54-yard field goal in the first overtime to send the first-ever meeting between the schools to a second extra period.

After Terry's interception, a brawl broke out near the BYU sideline, marring what likely will be remembered as one of the better games of the 2014 bowl season.

Memphis players charged onto the field to celebrate and mixed with crestfallen BYU players. Coaches, who said they didn't know how the melee started, were able to control the situation and BYU players eventually left the field, having lost a game they thought they had won several times.

"It was an onslaught of celebration coming at us, and so who knows from there? Just one excited team and one frustrated team after the game," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "When you put those two together, hard to know where it went and how that all starts."

The game itself was symbolic of BYU's season — a roller-coaster ride with many up and downs and ultimately a disappointing finish.

"I thought we had it, but we didn't finish," said BYU receiver Jordan Leslie.

The Cougars (8-5) took a 45-38 lead when Zac Stout picked off bowl MVP Paxton Lynch and returned the ball 19 yards for a touchdown with 7:48 remaining. After the teams exchanged punts, Memphis scored on fourth-and-4 from the 5 when Lynch found Kelwone Malone after a lengthy scramble. Malone had ripped a catch away from BYU's Skye PoVey on fourth-and-6 four plays before that.

"No. 7 made some unbelievable catches," said BYU's Mitchell Juergens, who caught a 47-yarder in the first quarter.

Mendenhall called two timeouts after the Memphis touchdown in an attempt to ice Elliott on the point after, but it didn't work and he tied it at 45-45. Mendenhall defended burning the timeouts, saying it was a gut feeling and that he didn't think BYU's offense could get into scoring position with just 45 seconds remaining in regulation.

So the game went to overtime, and BYU settled for Trevor Samson's 45-yard field goal. The Cougars pushed Memphis back 12 yards on three plays, but Elliott's 54-yarder would have been good from 60.

The Tigers scored easily in the second overtime, needing only four plays, then got the interception to end the game.

"It seemed like one long game of the same game," Mendenhall said. "Memphis found a way to make it happen. … It came down to Memphis making one more play than we made."

Stewart made some brilliant throws in the game but also some costly ones. He finished 23 of 48 for 348 yards and three touchdowns but with three interceptions.

"Gutsy," Mendenhall said of Stewart's play. "He's one of my favorite players that I've coached in 10 years."

On their first overtime possession, the Cougars thought they had scored a touchdown when Leslie corralled a pass in the end zone against his neck and helmet, but officials ruled the pass incomplete then reviewed it and let the call stand.

"I definitely thought it was a touchdown," Leslie said. "I thought as long as you secure the ball, it is an automatic touchdown, but obviously they saw something different."

The Cougars were in trouble early in the second quarter after Lynch's 3-yard TD run gave the Tigers a 24-14 lead, but BYU rallied after Alani Fua's 37-yard interception return to the 15 and subsequent touchdown. BYU led 28-24 at the break, as Stewart was 17 of 25 with 246 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.

The Cougars lost the lead in the third quarter when they mustered just 17 yards, and trailed 38-28 before scoring 17 straight points in the fourth quarter.

"Obviously an incredibly competitive and hard-fought football game," said Fuente. "BYU has a very good football team over there and those kids battled back from deficits twice."

Twitter: @drewjay —

Storylines

• The Cougars battle back from 10-point deficits in both halves, but lose a heartbreaker in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl.

• Christian Stewart throws for 348 yards and three touchdowns, but the final pass of his career is intercepted in the second overtime.

• A brawl breaks out after the game near the BYU sideline as Memphis players celebrate their big win.

More coverage

• BYU quarterback Christian Stewart says he won't dwell on his last pass for the Cougars — a game-ending interception. > C6

• The Cougars uncharacteristically struggle after halftime, gaining just 17 yards in the third quarter. > C6 • A brawl mars the end of the game, and BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe later apologizes. > C7