After trailing by as many as nine points in the first half at Cincinnati, BYU rallied to take three-point lead at halftime and looked to be in good shape.

But looks, just like the Bearcats’ doormat offensive shooting numbers this season, can be deceiving.

BYU had a deer-in-the-headlights moment in the second half, getting outscored 20-2 over an eight-minute span, and had no answer for Cincinnati’s suddenly super-charged offense in a demoralizing 84-66 loss at Fifth Third Arena on Saturday.

The Bearcats, who were last in 3-point field goal percentage and next-to-last in field goal percentage during Big 12 play through 11 games, made 10 of 20 (50%) from beyond the arc — their first double-digit 3-point performance since Thanksgiving — and connected on 58.6% (34 of 58) from the field against the Cougars. It was a 46-point turnaround from two weeks ago, when BYU thumped Cincinnati 80-52 in Provo.

“Our offense really let us down in the second half,” Cougar coach Kevin Young said in the BYU Sports Network. “We were up three going into halftime and I thought that was pretty incredible given how the game was playing out, with the shot making display they put on. So we’ve got to really examine that in the film. But I was a disappointing effort by our group in the second half, for sure.”

The Cougars should have been forewarned after the Bearcats outscored UCF 93-83 on Tuesday but they were helpless to stop Jizzle James and Day Day Thomas from getting pretty much whatever they wanted on the offensive end.

James, who had just six points against BYU in Provo, had his way with the Cougars defense. A 25% 3-point shooter, James was 6 of 8 from distance and 9 of 14 overall in scoring 24 points to lead the Bearcats. Thomas added 15 for Cincinnati, who held a whopping 32-17 rebounding advantage. The Bearcats cleaned up their own mistakes and turned 11 offensive rebounds into a 16-0 lead in second-chance points.

James and Thomas combined to shoot 16 of 23 (70%) from the field.

Cincinnati (14-9 overall, 4-8 Big 12) also turned 12 BYU turnovers into a 24-12 advantage in points off turnovers.

“I thought they were the tougher team tonight, you know?” Young said. “I think sometimes, as coaches, we want to scheme for everything but sometimes it’s between you and the guy that’s in front of you. I thought tonight, they wanted some of the toughness plays more than we did, and that part is disappointing. We talk about rebounding ad nauseum with our group. So we’ve got to be better there.”

Richie Saunders led BYU with 15 points, 13 in the first half, and Egor Demin had 10 of his 12 in the first 20 minutes as well. The Cougars were just 8 of 24 (33%) from the field and 5 of 19 (26%) from the 3-point line in the second half.

BYU trailed by nine, 22-13, at the 12:25 mark of the first half when Josh Reed came off the bench to make a 3-pointer. A dunk from Aziz Bandaogo had Cincinnati leading 39-34 with 1:42 remaining in the half, but the Cougars finished strong. Fousseyni Traore scored inside, Saunders made a layup and as the clock ran down, Demin dropped in a 3-pointer and was fouled. He converted the free throw and BYU led 42-39 at the break.

The only highlight for the Cougars in the fateful first seven minutes of the second half was a drive and dunk by Demin at the 18:49 mark, the only BYU points until Trey Stewart made a 3-pointer with 12:24 to play. The rest was an impressive display in efficiency by James and his teammates. Three times while scoring 18 straight points, the Bearcats missed but gathered in the offensive rebound and scored anyway.

BYU trailed by 17, 61-44, when Young went with a lineup that included zero starters. That group actually trimmed the deficit to eight, 66-58, on a 3-pointer from Mihailo Boskovic with 8:06 remaining. After a rare empty possession by Cincinnati, Boskovic drove and missed a good look that would have cut the lead to six. A 9-1 Bearcats run followed for a 75-59 lead with 5:19 to play and the Cougars were good and cooked.

“Our second loss in a row, it’s not good,” Boskovic said on the BYU Sports Network. “But I feel like this whole season we’ve shown that we can get back into it. We’re a great team and we have the talent to be there. We don’t really think about it too much, we just want to get to the next game and show we can win.”

BYU (15-8, 6-6) plays its second game on a long road trip Tuesday at West Virginia. The Mountaineers (15-8, 6-6) topped Utah 72-61 on Saturday in Morgantown, with 17 points from Amani Hansberry and 14 from Javon Small.