BYU could play Gonzaga 10 times this season and probably never come within 10 points of the Zags, but for a few brief moments in both halves on Saturday night, the Cougars showed some flashes of being able to hang with the college basketball team that will probably be ranked No. 1 in the nation this week.
That’s what coach Dave Rose chose to focus on after the Cougars fell 102-68 at McCarthey Athletic Center, a 6,000-seat venue where somehow BYU defeated the best program in the West three consecutive times from 2015-17.
“I thought our guys competed really well,” Rose told the BYU Radio Network.