SALT LAKE CITY — No. 9 BYU survived a late rally by rival Utah, with Richie Saunders’ 24 points and 14 rebounds sealing an 89-84 victory on Saturday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
“It was a hard fought game which we knew it would be," second year head coach Kevin Young said. "Rivalry games are like that and it makes it super fun. There is nothing better as a competitor to go into somebody else’s building and beat them, especially when it's against someone with a long standing rivalry.”
Despite leading by 13 midway through the second half, the Cougars had to fend off a Utah comeback as the Utes cut the deficit to one with 3:15 remaining. Robert Wright III and Saunders answered with clutch free throws, and a basket from Wright III helped BYU maintain the lead.
The Cougars had four players score in double figures in Saunders, Wright III, AJ Dybantsa and Keba Keita. Saunders paced BYU with 24 points while matching his career-high with 14 rebounds, adding three assists and one steal. The Riverton, Utah product scored 17 of his points in the second half, shooting 6-of-7 from the field. Wright III finished just behind his senior teammate with 23 points and six rebounds.
Dybantsa added 20 points to extend his streak of 20-point games to nine, along with six rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal. Keita contributed 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
BYU out-shot Utah 50 to 46.2 percent, out-rebounded 41 to 33, out-assisted 16 to 14 and out-blocked four to three.
Tonight’s game marked the third time this season that the Saunders-Wright III-Dybantsa trio has scored 20-plus points in the same game.
First Half
The Utes won the opening tip and jumped out to a quick start, opening on a 7-0 run with a jumper, a dunk and an and-one layup. Wright III halted the run with a corner 3-pointer off an assist from AJ Dybantsa. After Utah made two free throws, the Cougars answered with a 7-0 spurt of their own over a 45-second stretch. Keita converted a layup while drawing a foul and completed the three-point play at the line. On back-to-back Utah possessions, Saunders secured rebounds, leading to four more BYU points from himself and Wright III to cap the run and cut the deficit to 10-9 with 16:14 remaining in the half.
BYU struggled to find a rhythm offensively as Utah put together an 8-2 run to take a four-point lead. Dybantsa stopped the momentum with a 6-0 personal run in under 90 seconds. After sinking two free throws, the Brockton, Massachusetts native grabbed a rebound on the Utes’ next possession and finished a fast-break layup. He capped the surge with a fast-break dunk off a pass from Wright III, giving the Cougars a 26-24 lead with 7:55 left on the clock.
Following a media timeout, Wright III extended the BYU run with his second 3-pointer of the night. The game turned into a 3-point battle as both teams traded pairs of triples, with Saunders and Kennard Davis Jr. connecting for the Cougars.
Utah tied the game at 41 with just over one minute remaining. Wright III responded with a layup, and after the Utes answered on the other end, Dybantsa closed the half by knocking down two free throws to give BYU a 45-43 lead at the break.
Second Half
Dybantsa opened the second half with a jumper, and Keba Keita blocked a Utah layup, leading to a Saunders layup on the other end. Keita followed with a tip-in before Dybantsa picked Utah’s pocket and found Saunders for another layup. Dybantsa and Saunders each added one more basket to cap a 12-2 run out of the locker room, pushing BYU to a 57-45 lead with 15:43 remaining.
That's a BAAAAAD man
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Senior duo Keita and Saunders accounted for the Cougars’ next seven points to maintain an 11-point advantage. Saunders then teamed up with Dybantsa to spark a 7-3 spurt.
Utah answered with a run of its own, going 3-for-3 from the field and adding three free throws to put together a 9-2 spurt that trimmed the deficit to five with just under eight minutes left.
The Cougars snapped a field-goal drought of more than three minutes with a second-chance layup from Saunders. BYU then forced an out-of-bounds turnover, and Wright III converted on the ensuing possession to keep the Cougars in front, 80-73.
Utah quickly scored five points to pull within two with 3:52 remaining. Wright III made two free throws, and the Cougar defense followed with a shot-clock violation to regain possession. Two more Utah free throws kept it a one-possession game, but Keita answered with a bucket off an assist from the Baylor transfer to extend the lead to five.
Terrence Brown scored on a layup with 45 seconds left, and Wright III missed a jumper on BYU’s next possession, keeping the margin at three and giving Utah 16 seconds to respond. BYU forced another turnover and regained possession with eight seconds remaining. On the ensuing inbound, Saunders was fouled and made both free throws. Don McHenry’s last-second 3-pointer missed, sealing an 89-84 BYU victory.
Up Next
The Cougars return home on Wednesday, Jan. 14 for a matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs at 9 p.m. MST. Watch broadcast live on ESPN2 or listen to live play-by-play with Greg Wrubell on BYU Radio.