No. 19 Arizona men’s basketball suffers shocking home loss to BYU

The Wildcats drop two consecutive games in McKale Center

Melisa Guzeloglu, Sports Editor

February 23, 2025

BYU celebrates just after beating Arizona at home in McKale Center on Feb. 22. This was the third loss at home this season for the Cats.

The No. 19 University of Arizona men’s basketball team (18-9, 12- in Big 12) suffered a nail-biting 96-95 loss against the BYU Cougars (19-8, 10-6 in Big 12) on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m. in McKale Center. The Wildcats are now 1-3 in their last four matchups.

Despite five Wildcats completing the night scoring in double figures, BYU managed to score 96 points on Arizona’s home floor, collecting its fourth win in a row. Caleb Love led Arizona with 27 points, three rebounds and five assists. Tobe Awaka led second, recording his second consecutive double-double, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Awaka had a perfect shooting night, hitting 5-of-5 of his shots and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

“You can’t just show up and think you have a great defense, you have to make it happen and our guys didn’t make it happen today,” head coach Tommy Lloyd said after the game.

Arizona struggled in the turnover game, giving up the ball 14 times compared to BYU’s nine. This deficit proved crucial for the Cougars, as they scored 22 points off turnovers compared to the Wildcats’ 10. Richie Saunders led BYU with 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the floor. Kanon Catchings recorded 14 points, hitting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Egor Demin had 13 points and dished out eight assists. The Cougars shot a collective 55.4% from the field, including 14-of-31 from the 3-point line, having no difficulty finding shots.

“They [BYU] got whatever they wanted tonight. Threes, layups, offensive rebounds, second-chance points […]. We can’t put ourselves in that position,” Love said.

During the final 3 seconds of regulation, head official Tony Padilla made a controversial call on Arizona forward Trey Townsend, ultimately giving Saunders two free-throws to clinch the victory, sending shock through McKale.

“It’s a bad call, I mean like, whatever, what am I gonna say. You hate for a game to be decided by that. I mean, Trey [Townsend], I feel horrible for him. The guy didn’t play in the second half. I tightened the rotation,” Lloyd said.

“He played good defense, the guy’s pivoting, pivoting, pivoting, throws his shoulder into him, throws up a shot and falls down. It’s a foul with 2 seconds to go. It’s the Big 12, that’s what I’m told […]. We got to live with it”

First half

Beginning the game with a turnover by BYU, the Cougars quickly came back with a basket scored by Saunders, putting them up 3-0. Awaka put the first points on the board for Arizona, hitting a shot from beyond the arc and tying the score at 3. Off a turnover, Love was able to finish on the other end with a ferocious dunk, getting the crowd in McKale on their feet and putting the Wildcats up 7-3.

Jaden Bradley scored a jumper on the fast break, extending Arizona’s lead to 13-10 five minutes into the first half. Saunders responded on the other end off a Wildcat turnover, to cut the lead to 1 point. BYU didn’t stop there as Mawot Mag evened out the score at 15 with a shot from beyond the arc. KJ Lewis and Trey Townsend make back-to-back layups, building up a 4-point advantage. Arizona continued to score as Love hit a 3-point shot, building the Wildcat’s lead to 22-17 with 11:22 remaining in the first period.

BYU went on a 10-0 scoring run, leading the Wildcats 27-22 with 9:41 remaining in the first half. Henri Veesaar broke the Wildcats’ scoring drought, nailing a shot from beyond the arc to tie the score at 27. BYU kept coming back as Kanon Catchings hit his own 3-pointer, gaining the 30-27 advantage for the Cougars. Shortly after, Demin scored a layup, further building BYU’s 5-point advantage.

Demin continued to put points on the board, scoring a driving layup that helped control the lead. Saunders added to BYU’s offensive flow by draining a 3-point jumper, pushing the lead to 39-32.

Carter Bryant nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending Arizona into halftime trailing BYU 47-44. Awaka led the first half for Arizona with 11 points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor and six rebounds. Love followed closely with 10 points.

Second half

Demin opened the second half with a 3-pointer, only to be answered by back-to-back 3-pointers shot by Anthony Dell’Orso, tying the game at 50. Moments later, Love and Dell’Orso drained more shots from beyond the arc, keeping a slim distance between Arizona and BYU. Out of a media timeout, Saunders scored a shot from beyond the arc, gaining back the 1-point lead. The two programs fought lead, going back and forth with made possessions.

BYU’s Catchings scored a 3-pointer to gain a 2-point lead, quickly leveled out to 66 with a dunk by Veesaar. Arizona went scoreless for three minutes, producing very slow movement on the offensive end to work the ball up the court. This drought was plagued by several costly errors and turnovers.

Lewis would score off a couple of difficult jumpers despite, slowly cutting the 78-75 deficit. Demin was able to score a driving layup, gaining the 80-77 lead. However, BYU’s lead would be pushed down to 1 as Veesaar tipped in a dunk.

Knell knocked down a 3-pointer to grow BYU’s 4-point lead. Arizona tried to trim it down, but the Cougars found answers with their efficient scoring offense.

Love hit a much-needed shot from beyond the arc, cutting the deficit to just 1 point as BYU led Arizona 94-93 with 32 seconds remaining in the game. After getting called for the foul on a layup, Love scored both free throws, catching the 1-point lead as Arizona led 95-94.

The game came down to a foul being called on Arizona, leading to two made free throws by Saunders. Despite the Wildcats having possession, BYU was able to turnover the ball, securing the 96-95 upset.