Davis Jr. carries No. 9 BYU past Miami, 72-62

Author Halle Taylor
Davis Jr. carries No. 9 BYU past Miami, 72-62Davis Jr. carries No. 9 BYU past Miami, 72-62
Box Score

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Behind Kennard Davis. Jr.’s season-high 18 points, the No. 9 Cougars took down the Hurricanes 72-62 at the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational on Thanksgiving Day at the State Farm Field House.

BYU trailed 33-29 at the half but dominated the second half, scoring 43 points to Miami’s 29. Robert Wright III, AJ Dybantsa and Davis Jr. led the charge, combining for 36 points after the break. The second-half comeback lifted BYU to 5-0 under Kevin Young when trailing by five points or fewer at halftime.

Davis Jr. led BYU with 18 points, going 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-7 from three. The Southern Illinois transfer also recorded five rebounds and one assist.

Keba Keita anchored BYU’s defense with a season-high 10 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, the most by a Cougar since Shawn Bradley’s 10 against Virginia on March 14, 1991.

Wright III and Dybantsa weren’t far behind Davis Jr., contributing 17 and 16 points, respectively. The Baylor transfer went 2-of-2 from three and Dybantsa nearly recorded a double-double with his eight rebounds.

The Cougars out-shot the Hurricanes 45.5 to 37.9 percent, out-rebounded 42 to 39, out-assisted 12 to 10 and out-blocked eight to four.

First Half
Neither team scored on the opening possession of the game as Keita denied Shelton Henderson and BYU turned the ball over. The teams would trade baskets over the next two minutes before a Keita dunk gave BYU a 7-5 lead.

The Hurricanes cashed in on second-chance points in back-to-back possessions, pushing a 9-7 lead over BYU. Keita capitalized on a Dybantsa miss to pull BYU even, before Miami retook the lead off a 3-ball leading into the first media timeout.

For nearly two minutes, each team faced a scoring drought until Richie Saunders and Dominique Diomande paired for two-straight threes to go up three. Wright III capped an 8-0 run with a second-chance turnaround jumper.

Miami went empty for over three minutes until they found a 9-0 run halfway through the first frame. Steals and turnovers would then force BYU to endure a three-minute scoreless drought themselves.

Each side of the court exchanged dunks and layups to make it 24-23 Hurricanes with 3:38 remaining.

Miami continued to dominate the paint at the close of the first half, finding a 7-0 run that spanned under 40 seconds to close the half, forcing a BYU timeout.

Wright III made a driving layup at the buzzer to close the slow half, with the Hurricanes in front, 33-29.

Through the opening 20 minutes, BYU shot 39.4 percent from the field. Miami’s offensive rebounding fueled a third of their first-half points, ending the half with 11 of 33 coming on second chances.

Second Half
Dybantsa put BYU on the board first in the half, and after a Hurricane dunk, Wright III hit a three to make it a one-point game. One minute later, Wright III sent to Saunders for a 3-pointer, giving the Cougars the lead.

BYU kick-started a 10-0 lead, led by Davis Jr. The junior hit a 3-pointer, and on the Cougars’ next possession, Wright III made a shot leading into a media timeout. Out of the timeout, Dybantsa attacked the basket for a layup. The Brockton, Mass. product was fouled on the play, and he made the and-one. On Miami’s next possession, Wright III came up with a steal, and Davis Jr. closed the run he started with a layup on the fast break, pushing BYU to a 49-40 advantage.

Another Cougar scoring drought commenced, this one for four minutes. Wright III drained his second 3-pointer of the night off an assist from Dybantsa to keep the nine-point lead.

Freshman Dybantsa was fouled twice in one minute, and he went four-of-four from the free throw line, helping the Cougars take their largest lead of the night at that point, 58-45, with just over eight minutes left.

Miami made the next five points, and then Davis Jr. made his third 3-ball of the night from the corner after connecting with Dybantsa. The Hurricanes made a three to cut the deficit to 10 with 4:33 on the clock.

After a Miami layup, Davis Jr. made another 3-pointer, this time as the shot clock buzzer sounded. The Hurricanes tried to mount another run, but Keita took over on defense, grabbing a rebound and recording a block in under a minute.

Wright III sealed the win 72-62 with consecutive pairs of free throws.

Up Next

BYU returns to action tomorrow, Nov. 28, and will face the winner of Dayton and Georgetown on day two of the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational.