Utah couldn’t get enough defensive stops Saturday night against No. 9 BYU in the latest rivalry matchup at the Huntsman Center.

The Runnin’ Utes, though, made the Cougars work for the victory, even as a heavy underdog.

There are no moral victories in this bitter rivalry, but if Utah can show progress moving forward from BYU’s harder-than-expected 89-84 victory, this kind of effort won’t go in vain.

“I think it was, there was a lot of little things, a lot of game plan things, little details that I don’t know if we just forgot or didn’t pay attention to,” Utah first-year coach Alex Jensen said about what cost Utah against the Cougars.

“Down the stretch, we’ve talked about it for a while because we’re going to give up size to other teams, but giving up the offensive (boards), it’s hard to get a stop and then they get the offensive rebounds. It’s a hard thing to come back from, especially the last few minutes.”

Jensen lamented his team’s defensive effort against the Cougars multiple times in the postgame press conference — BYU was able to shoot 50% in the game, and the Cougars held a 41-33 rebounding edge.

Senior Richie Saunders, who had never beaten Utah in the Huntsman Center until Saturday, was especially destructive on the boards. He had 14, including six on the offensive end, and helped BYU have a 16-10 edge in offensive boards and 19-14 in second-chance points.

“It’s hard to give up 89 points and win, right?” Jensen said. “And if you look at all the good teams in college that win, (they) are the other teams that defend and rebound.”

Utah has made giving BYU headaches in the Huntsman a routine thing. Even though the Cougars are the program on the ascent, the Utes still won their last two games in the series played at the storied venue.

Utah even pumped some belief into the packed house multiple times over the course of the game that it could stun BYU again.

The Utes got out to a 7-0 start in the game, then matched BYU punch for punch in the first half before going into the break down two after a questionable foul call resulted in two free throws from AJ Dybantsa just before the half.

Though BYU eventually built a 13-point lead in the second half, the Utes fought back again and made it a one-possession game multiple times down the stretch.

That included cutting it to 81-80 on two Terrence Brown free throws with 3:15 to play.

Then, the Utes had a defensive stop in the final minute down three, but a costly turnover — just Utah’s ninth of the night — gave BYU the ball back with eight seconds remaining.

Two Saunders free throws followed that turnover from Brown, and with that, the Utes’ fight came up short.

Brown and Don McHenry showed up well in their introduction to the rivalry, as the dynamic scoring guards accounted for more than half of Utah’s points.

Brown had a game-high 25 points to go with five assists, three rebounds and two blocked shots, while McHenry had 21 points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal.

“Coach was just just saying you should be excited to play in a game like this,” Brown said. “… It was just a good opportunity, and it was definitely exciting.”

Fifth-year forward James Okonkwo provided a spark in front of a raucous crowd, to the tune of 13 rebounds, four points and two assists.

“James has been great the last two games. It’s great because it leads us with a physicality and just his presence, and that’s kind of what we want from him as a fifth-year senior,” Jensen said.

“The last two games, he’s been great and hopefully we get that, that same James going forward.”

Speaking of the crowd, the Utes noticed just how much a packed house for the first time this season — call it the annual rivalry effect — brought an energy to an arena that is often far too quiet as Utah tries to rebuild a once-proud program.

“I think the MUSS did a really good job of, like energizing us. It was a different level of energy in the game today, and it was really encouraging,” Okonkwo said.

“We went out on a really good run to start the game, and you could just feel it. We were locked in and it was really fun.”

It wasn’t enough to best BYU’s Big 3. Dybantsa, the projected lottery pick, had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, Saunders tossed in 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds (six offensive), while Rob Wright III added 23 points and six assists.

Can Utah learn from this game and take some lessons into the rest of Big 12 play?

Yes, the Utes are likely to lose the majority of their games the remainder of the season — they are the worst-ranked Big 12 team in the NET and KenPom, by a sizable margin — but Utah also showed that it’s progressing, even if incrementally.

“Honestly, like we have enough — we’re going to be so good when we clean up just a little mistakes,“ Okonkwo said. ”Honestly, that’s my opinion.

“That’s what (coach) was kind of harping on about in the locker room, just staying consistent. Just get better every day.”

WEBER COUNTY, Utah — She was a good Samaritan, stopping to help when she saw a crashed car, but tragically, that decision ended her life.

According to the Utah Highway Patrol, just before 6 a.m. on Friday, a man and woman were traveling along I-84 in Weber Canyon when they saw a crashed car on the side of the road.

They got out to help, but then they saw another car coming with its brakes locked up.

“The two individuals that were standing outside of the vehicle ran to avoid being hit. One went one direction, the other went towards the side of the barrier, jumped over the barrier, thinking it was solid on the other side, and fell in between the two bridge structures below,” said Corporal Eric Prescott with Utah Highway Patrol.

Woman dies after falling over I-84 barrier while assisting accident in Weber Canyon

Woman dies after falling over I-84 barrier while assisting accident in Weber Canyon

Prescott said they were from out of town and didn’t know the area very well, and unfortunately, he’s seen this happen before.

“About 15 years ago. I had another crash that occurred. Had 29 cars that were involved in a similar situation,” he said. “he stepped out to help, and he slipped on the barrier and fell.”

FOX 13 News asked if something could be fixed.

“We love that people want to help, but you also need to consider your safety also. So, it’s a pitch-black situation, you need to be cognizant and aware of like, hey, is this risk worth it of a vehicle that’s in the dark around the corner, no one’s going to be able to see you, and so you just have to weigh that risk,” Prescott said.

No other injuries were reported.

Prescott said they also have trauma resources available for the other drivers on the scene.

“They didn’t do anything wrong, they were involved in a crash, the bridge was icy. Didn’t contribute anything to the death of this individual, but there’s still going to be those feelings that are going to be involved in it,” Prescott said. “We were able to give some information, these resources, to kind of help give them some closure, to help them to know that, hey, this wasn’t your fault.”

FOX 13 News visited gas stations and rest stops around the area, and while no one wanted to be on camera, each person said even after hearing the story, they would still want to get out and help someone in their time of need.

UHP stated that it takes them 24 hours to notify the next of kin, but they’re hoping to release the identification and other information about the investigation in the coming days.