The Cougars shooting woes doomed them in a 75-62 loss to the number-12 ranked Wichita State Shockers in the Championship of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. BYU made just 18-of-60 shot attempts and just 5-of-21 three-point attempts on their way to a heart breaking defeat.

The final score of the game had no reflection on how close the game truly was.  Only a late flagrant foul, a technical foul by BYU coach Dave Rose and some unnecessary late fouls widened the final outcome.

In fact, BYU had a chance to tie with just 2:34 remaining but Carlino’s three-point attempt was wide left.

The Cougars were down 68-62 with 45.3 seconds remaining on the clock when Nate Austin was called for the flagrant two and was ejected from the game for elbowing Ron Baker in the side of the head.  From that point on, the Shockers scored the final seven points of the game from the line

BYU Point guard Matt Carlino started out the game on fire as the Cougars jumped out to an early 19 to 6 lead.

From that point on, BYU really struggled from the field as the Shockers were able to claw their way back.  It didn’t take long for Wichita State to do so thanks to early foul trouble from the Cougar big men.  Both Eric Mika and Nate Austin picked two early fouls and missed much of the first half.  The Cougars were able to hold a 36-34 lead going into half time on the strength of 18 points from Carlino.

The leading scorer for BYU, Tyler Haws had a difficult night shooting the ball hitting only 3-of-15 from the floor but finished the game with 17 points thanks to making all 11 of his free throws.

The Cougars were paced by Carlino who finished the night with 21 points as well as six rebounds.

Mika also finished the game in double figures with 10 points while Nate Austin led the team with 12 rebounds and two blocks before his ejection.

The Shockers were led by Baker and Fred VanVleet.  Baker finished with 23 points while VanVleet registered 12 points and made just about every big shot when the game was tight.

The Cougars will be back on the floor on Saturday night as they take on the Utah State Aggies at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.