It was another heartbreaker for Kevin Young’s Cougars.

In the program’s first conference clash against Utah since 2011, BYU suffered a 73-72 overtime loss to the Runnin’ Utes Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

3 takeaways

Once again, BYU fell short both on the road and late in the second half. The Cougars have yet to win in a true road setting this season, and if they can’t do it 45 miles away from the Marriott Center and with a few thousand of their own fans in the building, it’s hard to imagine when they’ll finally find success as a visitor in the Big 12.

BYU has now led at halftime in each of the past four contests, yet the Cougars are just 1-3 over the same stretch.

Even after the Utes missed 15 free throws on the night, and with their best player, Gabe Madsen, managing just eight points on 2-12 shooting, they still won.

BYU struggled to execute in overtime, and a number of self-inflicted wounds — namely, a Trevin Knell missed free throw with six seconds remaining that would have tied the score — ultimately buried the Cougars.

Hunter Erickson played hero. Losing to your rival is hard enough. For BYU, letting a former Cougar come alive late and make a big difference in the game has to sting much more.

Erickson played two years at BYU before eventually winding up in Salt Lake City, where he’ll now forever be remembered for his efforts in vanquishing his former teammates.

He outscored his season average of 4.4 points solely in overtime, posting six points from a clutch game-tying 3-pointer and three made free throws — all the more valuable in a game where Utah missed 15 shots from the charity stripe — which ended up being the winning difference.

Additionally, Ezra Ausar exploded for a season-high 26 points, while Lawson Lovering added 13 points, seven boards and four assists.

On the flip side, BYU didn’t get much aside from a combined 32 points from Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore, shooting 38.5% from the field, 26.7% from deep and 40% from the free throw line.

It’s great to have this rivalry back in the same conference. Neither BYU nor Utah will compete for the Big 12 crown this year, but Saturday’s matchup had all the feel of a high-stakes March affair.

The contest was tight, tense and dramatic from start to finish. The Huntsman Center was electric. No matter what side you rooted for, what more could you want in a basketball game?

The Cougars and Runnin’ Utes are always juiced up when they meet on the hardwood, but competing in the same league — and matching up twice per season — adds even more to the rivalry.

What a treat to get a rematch between these two squads seven weeks from now in Provo.