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After Jakob Poeltl roasted BYU for 26 points in the middle of the week, Cougars coach Dave Rose said his team would take its chances against Weber State's prolific shooting to contain Wildcats big man Joel Bolomboy.

Bolomboy, who's on the NBA's radar as a 6-foot-9 senior, finished a win over Pacific Union on Tuesday with 20 points and 13 rebounds in only 22 minutes.

After Bolomboy finished the first half of BYU's 73-68 win over Weber State on Saturday with only three points, Rose said the gamble was worth it.

"That was a really difficult decision because of how good of shooters they are," he said. "But our guys were really quick tonight, I thought we covered a lot of space."

The Cougars were without an answer for Poeltl on Wednesday, the Utah center holding sophomore Corbin Kaufusi to zero points and five fouls.

Kaufusi found himself in foul trouble again, but bounced back with six points while Nate Austin added four off the bench as the Cougars continue to compensate for Jamal Aytes' ankle injury.

Bolomboy finished the game with 12 points, tied for a season low.

"Early work is huge with him [Bolomboy]," BYU guard Kyle Collinsworth said. "He's so athletic and strong. If he gets down low, he's going to dunk over you."

Rose said his team's struggles were primarily a size issue against Poeltl, and with two dedicated defenders on Bolomboy, the Cougars were able to rebound.

"That big kid from Utah, he was really dominant in that game. Hopefully we'll learn how to deal with that size. I thought we figured out a lot of other things in that game, but we never figured out how to deal with the big kid down low," Rose said. "Hopefully next time we see that, we'll be better at it."

bsmith@sltrib.com

Twitter: @BrennanJSmith