No. 8 Houston Holds Off No. 16 BYU At Marriott Center
Feb 7, 2026, 11:15 PM | Updated: Feb 9, 2026, 5:11 am
PROVO, UT - FEBRUARY 7: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the Brigham Young Cougars gets bumped by Milos Usan #7 of the Houston Cougars during the first half of their game at the Marriott Center on February 7, 2026 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – The losing streak for BYU basketball extends to four games as No. 16 BYU falls to No. 8 Houston, 77-66.
BYU had a lead of three points with 13:31 to go, but that was as big a lead as they could build in the all-Cougar matchup.
AJ Dybantsa led all scorers with 28 points on 14 field goal attempts.
For Houston, freshman star Kingston Flemings led the way with 19 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
BYU suffers its first four-game losing streak as a member of the Big 12 Conference, and its first four-game skid since 2023.
Next up for BYU is a road game at Baylor on Tuesday night in Waco.
First Half
Under-16: Houston 7, BYU 2
Emmanuel Sharp was everywhere on the defensive end for Houston. Also, Chris Cenac showed solid defense against BYU star AJ Dybantsa.
BYU got on the board first before Houston put together a 7-0 run.
Under-12: Houston 17, BYU 11
BYU trimmed Houston’s lead down to three at 12-9, before the Coogs starters returned to the game.
Emmanuel Sharp then buried a deep three, followed by a runner in the paint.
Under-8: Houston 21, BYU 18
BYU was outrebounding Houston on the offensive glass, five to four. The Cougars in blue were using a lineup with Abdullah Ahmed, Khadim Mboup, and Keba Keita on the floor.
Kingston Flemings knocked down his first bucket of the game in the paint, which silenced the loud Marriott Center to give Houston a three-point lead into the media timeout.
Under-4: Houston 28, BYU 18
Houston put together a 9-0 run, while BYU was on a scoring drought of 4:18.
BYU committed its first turnover of the game when Richie Saunders stepped on the out-of-bounds line in front of the Houston bench with 6:18 to go.
Chris Cenac has knocked two of his three 3-point attempts to lead all scorers with 12 points.
Halftime: Houston 37, BYU 31
BYU trimmed the deficit down to four before Jojo Tugler was on the spot to close the half with a putback bucket off a Kingston Flemings missed layup toss against AJ Dybantsa.
Pretty clean half by both teams, with only two turnovers by both Houston and BYU.
One difference between the two teams was at the free-throw line. BYU was 5-of-9, while Houston was a perfect 4-of-4.
Second Half
Under-16: Houston 46, BYU 42
BYU cut the deficit down to four. The Cougars in blue were attacking the rim, drawing four fouls on Houston in the opening minutes of the half.
Every time the Marriott Center crowd is ready to take off, Houston keeps finding an answer, especially from Jojo Tugler with six points to open the second half.
Under-12: BYU 52, Houston 52
At the 14:07 mark, BYU took its first lead since it was 2-0 when Rob Wright III flipped it up at the glass and put it down.
Houston saw reserve player Isaiah Harwell, a former Wasatch Academy standout, limp off the floor. Moments prior, Kingston Flemings was seen limping, but he quickly returned to action.
Flemings hit a midrange bucket to tie it at 52.
AJ Dybantsa nearly had a posterizing dunk on Houston’s Kalifa Sakho, but had to settle for the free-throw line, where he hit one of two.
Under-8: Houston 59, BYU 54
Houston put together a 7-2 spurt after winning a Coach’s Challenge, which was ruled in favor of the Coogs, overturning an out-of-bounds call that initially gave BYU possession.
The star freshmen on both sides went to work. Kingston Flemings for Houston had a big midrange bucket, then drew an and-one on a finish at the rim.
AJ Dybantsa showed excellent footwork and patience on a pump fake to knock down a middie.
BYU center Keba Keita had a big miss after Richie Saunders came up with an offensive rebound. He found an open Keita, and the center missed completely.
Under-4: Houston 67, BYU 59
Houston grabbed four offensive rebounds, all of which led to points, giving the Coogs a chance to build the lead to eight.
BYU had some costly mistakes from Kennard Davis with a turnover after a Keba Keita blocked shot.
Richie Saunders rushed a shot with two Houston defenders on him in the paint, and the ball went out of bounds off BYU.
Khadim Mboup had an opportunity for an open three-pointer in the corner and missed it. Then on the next Houston offensive possession, Mboup was called for a foul against Houston’s Kalifa Sakho. That foul call led BYU students to chant, “Ref, you suck!”
Final: Houston 77, BYU 66
BYU cut the deficit to five after AJ Dybantsa buried a three-pointer, but Emmanuel Sharp quickly answered with a three-pointer that rolled in.
That was the back breaker as Houston then closed out the game with an 11-point victory.
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