PROVO, Utah- The Central Washington University men's rugby team battled cold, bitter conditions and a tough Brigham Young University squad Saturday afternoon to wrap up their road swing through Utah. The fixture was hard fought, but the Wildcats ultimately fell 46-26.
 
"We competed at times today and showed good fight, but collectively struggled to put together 80 minutes of Wildcat Rugby," CWU head coach Todd Thornley explained. "Our young cats are growing, but we still are not where we need to be at this time of the year. Next week is another opportunity to continue our journey and fight for an opportunity to play in the post season."
 
The Cougars jumped out to an early 5-0 lead following a try by Connor Parry. Central Washington responded well, scoring two tries over a ten-minute span. Senior winger Ian Wright scored in the 12th minute to spark CWU's scoring effort, followed by Larry Peneueta in the 17th. Reuben Luddick capitalized on a pair of conversion attempts to give the Wildcats a 14-5 advantage.
 
BYU closed out the first half on a 15-0 run, with tries coming from Ben Webber, Coleman Meier, and Parry. CWU entered the break trailing 20-14.
 
The Cougars continued to apply pressure out of intermission, scoring the first two tries of the half.
 
In the 55th minute, junior Cole Zarcone sidestepped a BYU defender to break through their defensive line into space. Zarcone proceeded to race thirty meters and dragged a pair of tacklers into the try zone for Central's first try of the half.
 
Brigham Young responded with a pair of tries of their own by Mike Payne and Justin Weaver. Calvin Whiting kicked through the uprights to give the Cougars a 46-21 lead.
 
The 71st minute featured an offload by Nick Siemens to Zarcone who sprinted down the left side of the pitch and into try.
 
The Cougars managed to thwart CWU's comeback hopes down the stretch and ultimately handed the Wildcats their fifth loss of the season, 46-26.
 
SCORING SUMMARY vs. BYU
05:00  BYU 5
12:00  Ian Wright 5, Reuben Luddick 2
17:00  Larry Peneueta 5, Reuben Luddick 2
20:00  BYU 5
24:00  BYU 5
36:00  BYU 5
HALFTIME SCORE: CENTRAL WASHINGTON 14, BRIGHAM YOUNG 20
44:00  BYU 5
49:00  BYU 7
55:00  Cole Zarcone 5, Reuben Luddick 2
59:00  BYU 7
63:00  BYU 7
71:00  Cole Zarcone 5
FINAL SCORE: Central WASHINGTON 26, BRIGHAM YOUNG 46
 
-CWU-