Surging second half propels No. 25 BYU to sixth straight win

Despite a slow first half, BYU scored 46 points in the paint en route to a 77-56 win over West Virginia.

Author Kendall McKinnon
Surging second half propels No. 25 BYU to sixth straight winSurging second half propels No. 25 BYU to sixth straight win
Box Score

PROVO, Utah — Fousseyni Traore recorded the 21st double-double of his career on Saturday evening as No. 25 BYU defeated West Virginia 77-56 in front of a sold-out Marriott Center. 

“It was an ultimate tale of two halves," head coach Kevin Young said. "In the first half, our defense held us down while we were trying to figure out our offensive rhythm. In the second half, our guys’ attention to detail coming out of timeout where we just said, 'Hey, get to the rim. They’re going to take away the three point line. They don’t have a ton of shot blocking. Just get to the rim.’ We had a determined group that did that, and that was the difference in the game.”

With the Mountaineers taking away BYU's 3-point shooting, Traore went 9-of-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from the free throw line to go along with 10 rebounds for his second double of the season and 21st of his career. He is now teid with Fred Roberts for the 18th most double-doubles in program history. 

Egor Demin scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half as the Cougars scoerd 50-plus in the final 20 minutes of the game for the secodn time in Big 12 play and fifth overall. Richie Saunders also reached double figures as the junior finished with 13 points 25 minutes. 

The Cougars shot over 50.0 percent from the field for a fourth straight game going 29-of-55 the field, 5-of-15 from three and 14-of-22 from the charity stripe. They also had 43 rebounds, eight of those coming on the offensive glass, to go along with 16 asstis, two blocks and a steal. 

Notes&Quotes
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First Half
Keba Keita kicked off the half for the Cougars with a layup and a block, followed by a layup from Richie Saunders to put the team up 4-2. Traore put six more on the board for BYU, keeping the team in the lead despite a slow few minutes on offense.

With nine-straight points, the Mountaineers took their first lead of the game 17-13. BYU came back with a 10-0 run, including a layup by Traore in the final seconds of the half. The Cougars left the court at the half with a 25-19 lead.

Traore led BYU in first-half scoring with 10 points marking the second time in his career he scored double figures in the first half in consecutive games.  The Cougars tallied 23 rebounds, four assists and two blocks and shot 40.9 percent from the field.

Second Half
BYU continued its run with a 3-pointer from Demin and layup from Saunders forcing West Virginia to call its first timeout of the game. Saunders made a jumper and free throw to extend the Cougars’ run to 18-0, and the Mountaineers finally broke the streak with two free throws. Keita threw down a dunk paired with two jumpers from Demin, putting BYU up 39-24.

Traore went on another tear to score the next ten points for the Cougars, giving them their largest lead of the game at 19 points. Demin, Dallin Hall and Trey Stewart each sank a 3-pointer, forcing another West Virginia timeout. Demin and Dawson Baker combined for nine points in the next few minutes, putting BYU up 70-43 going into the media timeout.

Mihailo Boskovic contributed his first points of the game off a jumper and slam dunk, sealing the Cougars’ 77-56 victory against the Mountaineers.

BYU shot 60.6 percent from the field with 20 rebounds, 12 assists and one steal, while limiting West Virginia to a 41.9 field-goal percentage.

Up Next
The Cougars will return to the court on Tuesday, Mar. 4, for their final road Big 12 game, where they’ll play No. 9 Iowa State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST. The game will be streamed on ESPN2, and fans can listen via BYU Radio.