Center Jakob Poeltl scored 26 points and collected 13 rebounds for his 5th double-double of the season and it helped lead Utah to an 83-75 victory over BYU on Wednesday night.

Forward Jordan Loveridge chipped in 12 points and guard Kenneth Ogbe added 13 points in his first start of the season for the Utes. Utah (6-1) beat the Cougars for the third consecutive year.

Guard Chase Fischer scored 26 points to lead BYU and Kyle Collinsworth added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars. BYU (4-2) trailed almost the entire game.

Trailing by 23 points at halftime, BYU clawed its way back into the game in the second half behind improved defense and smarter shooting.

The Cougars opened the half on a 15-2 run, cutting Utah's lead to 53-43 on a 3-point play and putback layup from forward Kyle Davis. BYU kept chipping away at the lead. Guard Chase Fischer drained a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run that cut the Ute lead to 61-54.

Utah was able to pull away down the stretch. The Utes held BYU without a field goal for 5 1/2 minutes and used a 13-2 run to stave off the Cougar comeback. Poeltl punctuated the run with a tip-in basket that gave Utah a 78-59 lead with 3:00 remaining.

Chase Fischer made four straight baskets in the final minute to cut Utah's lead to single digits.

Utah dominated on both ends of the court throughout the first half. The Utes forced BYU to commit 10 turnovers and had a 16-2 advantage in points off turnovers. Offensively, Utah had excellent passing and ball movement to set up a series of easy baskets.

It helped Utah get cooking from the perimeter early and the Cougars were powerless to stop it. In the first half alone, the Utes shot 42 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range.

Utah used a 7-0 run -- culminating in a 3-pointer from forward Brekkott Chapman to build a 20-8 lead. Before BYU could settle things down, the Utes ran off 12 unanswered points fueled by a pair of baskets from Poeltl and forward Kyle Kuzma.

By the time forward Jordan Loveridge capped the 12-0 run with a fadeaway 3-pointer, Utah led 35-13 with 7:06 left in the half. BYU trailed by as much as 24 points before halftime, when the Utes took a 44-20 lead on a 3-pointer from guard Kenneth Ogbe with 4:13 remaining in the half.