KISSIMMEE, Fla. - No. 9 BYU will play for the championship at the Terry's Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational on Friday evening when the Cougars face Dayton at State Farm Field House in Kissimmee, Fla. Tip is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.
WHERE TO WATCH
Friday's game will be broadcast on ESPN with Rich Hollenberg and Fran Fraschilla on the call.
NO FLY ZONE
Friday will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools with the Cougars leading the all-time series 3-0. Two of the three previous meetings took place at neutral venues including the Cougars 79-75 overtime victory over the Flyers at Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 24, 2022.
In the seventh-place game, BYU overcame a 23-point deficit to defeat Dayton and secure their only win in the Bahamas. Gideon George had a game-high 21 points for the Cougars including a 3-pointer with 2:19 left in regulation to give BYU its first lead of the game. George, Rudi Williams and Jaxson Robinson combined to score 15 points in overtime to secure the largest comeback in tournament history.
ROCKED 'EM LIKE A HURRICANE
After trailing by four at halftime, BYU outscored Miami 43-29 over the 20 minutes en route to a 72-62 and improving to 5-1 on the season. The Cougars also improved to 3-2 all-time against the Hurricanes and picked up the first win of the all-time series at a neutral site.
BYU held the Hurricanes without a basket for more than six minutes in the second half as they went on a 10-0 run to retake the lead and never look back. They shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second half including going 6-of-10 from three and 13-of-18 from the free throw line in a win over an ACC opponent at a MTE for a third consecutive season.
After only playing six minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Keba Keita came alive in the second half as he recorded six of his career-high seven blocks after halftime. The senior also had a season-high 10 rebounds, nine of those coming on the defensive glass.
Kennard Davis Jr. scored a season-high 18 points for the Cougars as the junior knocked down four 3-pointers for his time at BYU and seventh time in his career. It also marked the first time the St. Louis native led the team in scoring. Robert Wright III and AJ Dybantsa joined Davis Jr. in double figures finishing with 17 and 16 respectively.
THE FACTS ARE THE FACTS
Keba Keita's seven blocks in Fridayís win are tied for the seventh-most in program history and the most by a Cougar since Shawn Bradley had 10 in his final collegiate game against Virginia on March 14, 1991 in the NCAA Tournament. The senior is now one of four players in program history with at least seven blocks in a seven game joining Bradley (8x), Greg Kite (2x) and Alan Taylor.
Six of Keita's blocks came after halftime, tied for the second-most in any half in program history.
JUST A SPUD, NOT A DUD
Richie Saunders continued his assault on the record books as the senior now ranks 32nd on the all-time scoring list with Gary Trost following his eight-point performance on Thanksgiving against Miami. With his 3-pointer at the 13:03 mark in first half, Saunders became the 33rd player in program history to score 1,200 points as the 6-foot-5 guard needed just 109 games to reach the plateau.
With his two 3-pointers against the Hurricanes, Saunders is now tied with Matt Carlino for the 12th most 3-point field goals in program history.
SHOWING THEM WHO IS BOSS
The quality wins keep coming for the Cougars as Friday's win over Miami was BYU's sixth straight win over an ACC school dating back to 2012 when BYU's all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws scored 42 points en route to a 21-point victory over the Hokies of Virginia Tech at Delta Center. Those six straight wins donít count the 78-76 victory over No. 23 North Carolina in an exhibition in Salt Lake City in October.
THE LAST OF A DYING BREED
Richie Saunders is the only player left on either roster that featured in BYU and Dayton's last meeting at Battle 4 Atlantis in November 2022. As a freshman, Saunders played 25 minutes off the bench in the overtime thriller finishing with eight points going 3-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. He also had three rebounds, two blocks and three assists as BYU became one of four NCAA Division I menís basketball programs with multiple comebacks of 23 points or more.
