This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

This happens occasionally, when a basketball game involving BYU features strong defense, aggressive rebounding and a grind-it-out offensive style.

Those reviews usually apply to the other guys, though.

Whether they were acting out of character or not, the Cougars genuinely played like a blue-collar team Wednesday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena. If their 77-63 victory over Utah State could be considered ugly, the Cougars' effort looked awfully good to coach Dave Rose.

The arena's statistics boards were activated late in the first half in time to display some crazy stuff: 14 offensive rebounds for BYU, 13 defensive boards for USU.

Of all the numbers available for processing in the end, this may have been the most impressive: BYU shot 35.2 percent from the field and won by 14 points. That's because the Cougars rebounded half of their own missed shots, grabbing 23 offensive rebounds — tying for the third-highest total in school history.

"Sometimes you have to look in the mirror," said USU coach Tim Duryea, "and we got manhandled."

When's the last time an opposing coach said that about the Cougars? Outscored, maybe. But out-toughed?

BYU is known for a fast pace, hot shooting and a lot of scoring. That was hardly the case against the Aggies, as Rose applied the brakes offensively and his team responded defensively. After BYU allowed 114 points in Saturday's loss to Utah Valley, it was determined to do something different.

"Believe it or not, we worked on a lot of defensive stuff," said center Eric Mika.

"We couldn't wait to play," said guard L.J. Rose, acknowledging the Cougars "embarrassed ourselves and the university" against UVU.

BYU's usual answer is to shoot like crazy and try to outscore the other team, but that strategy didn't work against UVU and may not have beaten Utah State either. The Cougars needed something out of the ordinary Wednesday, and their effort on the offensive boards made an impact.

BYU guard Nick Emery couldn't hit anything in Salt Lake City. He shot 3 of 15 from the field, Davin Guinn was 1 of 10 and TJ Haws was 2 of 8.

Yet the Cougars kept pounding the boards, even with former Aggie forward Kyle Davis missing the game due to an injury. And when Mika was on the bench after twisting his ankle in the first half, little-used Braiden Shaw scored three straight BYU baskets, all via rebounds.

Dave Rose is now 12-1 in this building, having beaten some good opponents in the process. L.J. Rose, a graduate transfer from Houston, likened the atmosphere to a high school game because of the split crowd of 12,000-plus. And like most in-state games, it was lacked artistry but was filled with intensity.

Wednesday's event heightened my interest in next year's Beehive Classic, a one-day event matching BYU vs. Weber State and Utah vs. Utah State and launching a three-year rotation of the four schools on the second Saturday of December.

Utah Valley could make a case for expansion of the event someday, if the Wolverines keep asserting themselves the way they did last weekend against BYU. UVU will get its chance to face Utah, Weber State and USU this December, anyway.

The neutral site of an NBA arena offers some variety and makes these contests feel like special events.

Having said that, the Beehive Classic shouldn't replace all of the in-state games on the campuses. BYU and Utah need to meet more often than once every three years and the Utes should follow through on president David Pershing's promise in January that the basketball team would schedule two in-state opponents every season. That's not happening in 2016-17, although the Utes have booked the team with the best credentials so far — Utah Valley, coming to the Huntsman Center next Tuesday.

Twitter: @tribkurt