LAS VEGAS — BYU knocks off the No. 21 Creighton Bluejays 83-80 in the Jack Jones Hoopfest behind a game-winner from Dallin Hall and 26 points from Rudi Williams on Saturday night.
"Creighton is an incredible team," said BYU guard Richie Saunders. "We had the lead but they showed their abilities to climb back into the game but because of people like Dallin Hall who stepped up, Rudi who stepped up and everyone that stepped up and showed toughness, we were able to pull out a win.”
The Cougars led by 11 with 3:38 left before Creighton erased the deficit with 12-straight points to take a one-point advantage with 26 seconds left. Hall drove right and missed a floater off the window but tipped in his own miss over three Bluejays for what would become the game winner with 12.6 seconds left.
"Dallin is really special," said BYU head coach Mark Pope. "“Dallin has walked into an incredible situation having Rudi [Williams] in the backcourt with him. I don’t know if I’ve had the honor of coaching a player like Rudi who is willing to share everything with Dallin, help him grow, support him and have his back 100 percent.
The Cougars turned in their best shooting night since November 29th as they shot 44.8 percent from the field while knocking down seven triples in the three-point win. BYU grabbed 16 offensive rebounds which turned into 21 second-chance points including the game winner by Hall.
Williams led the Cougars with a season-high 26 points. The fifth-year senior went 8-of-18 from the field, 9-of-11 from the line while recording four assists and four rebounds to help take down the No. 21 Bluejays. Williams 26 points is the 7th most points scored off the bench in program history.
Fousseyni Traore recorded his 13th career double-double and fourth of the season in the win. Traore finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds, five offensive boards and two assists. The sophomore went 5-of-10 from the field marking the fourth-straight game in which he has shot over 50 percent.
Saunders notched his second double-digit scoring night in the win. Saunders went 4-of-8 from the field including a three for 10 points while also grabbing six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block on the night.
Out of the under-16 media timeout, the Bluejays hit threes on consecutive possessions to take a 19-11 lead with 13:00 left in the half. Jaxson Robinson hit his second triple of the game followed by a 15-footer for Saunders to cut the Creighton lead to three, 21-18.
Robinson collected his own miss and found Williams for a reload, top of the key three for his first points of the night. Williams jumped a passing lane on the next Bluejay possession and went the length of the court and finished with the left hand to trim the lead to one.
After another Creighton triple, Saunders found Noah Waterman for a top of the key three to make the score 27-26 within one. Out of the under-8 timeout, Robinson hit his third three of the night to take a 30-28 lead with 7:05 left in the first.
With 1:18 to play in the first, the Cougars went to Traore on back-to-back possessions which he finished with strong post scores to take a 49-41 lead.
BYU took a 49-45 lead into the locker room courtesy of 48.6 percent shooting, five made threes and going 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. The Cougars 49 first-half points are the second most points scored in a first half this season.
BYU extended the lead to a game-high eight before Creighton scored 10-straight points with 15:22 to play to take its first lead since the 5:01 mark of the first half. Saunders ended the Bluejay run as he hit his first triple of the night with 14:55 to go and retake a 59-58 lead for the Cougars.
BYU and Creighton would trade baskets with four ties and four lead changes over the next four minutes before the Williams and Robinson scored 10-straight points to retake a nine-point advantage with 6:08 to play.
Out of a BYU timeout, Pope went with a small lineup without Traore or Atiki Ally Atiki but immediately went to George in the post who extended the BYU lead to 11 with 4:40 remaining.
Baylor Scheierman ended the 7:15 scoreless streak for Creighton with 4:11 left to cut the Cougar lead to nine heading into the under-4 timeout.
BYU led by 11 with 3:26 to play but turned the ball over six times in the final three minutes leading to a 12-0 Creighton run to take a one-point lead with 26 ticks left.
On the Cougars next possession with the Bluejays leading 80-79, Hall drove to the hoop, missed his runner but tipped in his own miss to give BYU a one-point lead with 11 seconds left.
The Cougars got a stop on the defensive end with the ball finding the hands of Hall who was fouled and made both free throws to seal an 83-80 win over the No. 21 Creighton Bluejays.
BYU will return to the Marriott Center on Thursday, December 15, to take on the Western Oregon Wolves. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on FS1 and can be heard live on BYU Radio Sirius XM 143, BYURadio.org/BYU Radio app or KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.