Lacrosse: UVU comes up short against in-state rival BYU

PROVO, Utah—The UVU men’s lacrosse team came out with something to prove against No. 7 BYU Thursday night, but fell by a final score of 15-13. After a dismal second quarter, the Wolverines found themselves fighting to stay alive.

The Wolverines got off to a strong start leading BYU 6-4 in the first quarter. However, their start was overshadowed by a poor second quarter. BYU was able to exploit the Wolverines defense with backside cuts during the quarter with six unanswered points.

Assistant head coach Brian Barnhill believes that even though they started strong, they put themselves in a hole. However, they never let up and kept fighting to regain their footing. UVU rallied in the third quarter by scoring three points to BYU’s four.

“We fought back, our guys didn’t rollover,” Barnhill said. “They just kept fighting and fighting.”

The Wolverines cut the lead to two with four points scored in the fourth quarter. With only 30 seconds left on the clock, BYU’s head coach and assistant head coach were ejected from the game for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Unfortunately, the the lack of time and BYU’s strong defense proved too much for the Wolverines to overcome in the end.

“Many guys were hurt,” Barnhill said. “Bryan Quick played with a broken, dislocated jaw, we got a guy who played with a broken thumb who kept playing… It was an impressive effort.”

Up next for the Wolverines is another divisional game against Utah State in Logan. After that they head to the conference playoffs, which will be held at the University of Utah on April 28 and 29.

Barnhill likes UVU’s chances in the playoffs and he believes that they are in the right frame of mind and have the momentum to be a real threat.