PROVO, Utah – A big second half gave the BYU men’s basketball team its third win of the season, a 90-51 win over Prairie View A&M in front of 11,760 fans Tuesday night at the Marriott Center in the second round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
Four minutes into the second half, BYU (3-1) began a 27-4 run in which the Cougar defense held the Panthers (2-3) to just 1 of 15 from the field, including a span of 12-straight misses. BYU’s Brock Zylstra hit a three-pointer to begin the run that was finished with back-to-back dunks by Brandon Davies and a three-pointer from Stephen Rogers to push the BYU lead to 68-34 with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Overall in the second half, BYU shot .679 (19 of 28) from the field compared to .263 (10 of 38) for Prairie View A&M, outscoring the Panthers 56-26 overall in the second frame.
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“As we got more energy from the crowd tonight we got better,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “We were really active in the zone and it worked for us tonight. I think it was successful and allowed us a lot of opportunities to get the ball in our possession and convert on turnovers."
Rogers came off the bench to lead all scorers with a career-high 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from the three-point line. Davies added 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists while Charles Abouo had 13 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals along with the highlight of the night on a one-handed putback dunk in the second half.
“Stephen is great off the bench,” Rose said. “His length really causes problems for most teams and that’s a huge strength for him and us.”
While Prairie View A&M struggled to find an offensive rhythm, BYU continued to shoot well. A game removed from tying a program record of 15 three-point conversions, the Cougars made 12 treys on 22 attempts to set a BYU record for most three-pointers in consecutive games. Seven different players hit at least one from beyond the arc.
Prairie View A&M shot 3 of 20 from the three-point line.
The Cougars opened its first double-digit lead with just under three minutes to play in the first half after a 16-4 run gave BYU a 34-25 lead. A putback by Davies and a trey by Rogers off of two offensive rebounds by Davies keyed the run for BYU, as did another lengthy defensive stand that held the Panthers to no field goals for over five minutes late in the first half.
Other players scoring in double figures included Noah Hartsock with 12 points to go with three blocks and Anson Winder who contributed 11 points and four assists off the bench.
“We had a lot of guys that stepped up for us in their respective positions and we’re all pleased with the win,” Rose said. “We’re ready to get back to practice tomorrow and then prepare to head out to Chicago.”
Now 2-0 in the Chicago Invitational Challenge, BYU will travel to Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., to face Nevada on Friday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. CT. The game will air live on BYUtv and KSL Radio.