PROVO, Utah — No. 11 BYU were led by AJ Dybantsa’s 25 points as they took down TCU 76-70 on Wednesday night at the Marriott Center.
After trailing 36-30 at the break, BYU used several dominant second-half runs and 13 second-chance points to secure a six-point victory.
“It was a gut check kind of win for our group. It felt like anything that could go wrong did go wrong," BYU head coach Kevin Young said. "I felt like our whole team had four fouls, I thought AJ was gonna die out there. They found a way to make plays. It was not Richie’s night but he put up that huge three.”
Dybantsa finished with 25 points, 17 from the second half, along with six rebounds and one assist. The freshman also went 7-of-7 from the free throw line. His 25 points move him past Devin Durrant and Eric Mika to No. 9 on the freshman scoring list.
Richie Saunders went 9-of-11 from the free throw line, totaling 18 points, six rebounds and one assist. Robert Wright III added 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Keba Keita contributed 10 rebounds, seven points, three blocks, two assists and one steal. Mihailo Boskovic and Khadim Mboup combined for 12 rebounds off the bench.
While BYU out-rebounded TCU 51 to 36 and out-stole five to three, the Horned Frogs out-shot the Cougars 41 to 35.3 percent and out-assisted 16 to 11.
First Half
The Cougars got off to a slow start, shooting 1-of-6 in the opening three minutes. Two early threes for TCU gave it an 8-2 lead with 16:37 on the clock. Wright III ended the scoring drought with a basket in the paint.
Boskovic completed a three-point play after tipping in a missed shot. Turnovers became an issue for both teams, but the Horned Frogs maintained a 16-12 advantage with 11:27 remaining in the half.
Dybantsa sparked a 6-0 personal run in less than two minutes, converting two pairs of free throws and a layup to give BYU its first lead. TCU’s Tanner Toolson responded by fueling an 8-0 run, putting the Horned Frogs back in front by four with just over six minutes to play.
BYU answered with a 5-0 run as Keba Keita scored on a second-chance layup and drew a foul. Keita missed the free throw, but Dybantsa secured the rebound and later found Wright III, who knocked down BYU’s first 3-pointer of the night to regain a 25-24 lead.
Rob from the corner 👌
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) January 15, 2026
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Wright III halted a 7-1 TCU run with a driving layup after BYU went more than three minutes without a field goal. A late TCU 3-pointer, an offensive foul on Dybantsa and a Boskovic travel proved costly, as the Horned Frogs took a 36-30 lead into halftime.
Second Half
BYU opened the second half with back-to-back and-one conversions from Richie Saunders and Dybantsa. A Keita block set up a wing 3-pointer from the wing by the Brockton, Mass. product to cut the deficit to two and force a TCU timeout. Keita capped the 11-2 run out of the break with a tip-in jumper to tie the game.
Dybantsa then ignited a 12-3 surge with a jumper and free throw after drawing contact. Boskovic followed with a 3-pointer a minute later, and Dybantsa added two straight three-point plays, an and-one jumper and a 3-pointer, to give BYU a 55-49 lead with 11:56 remaining.
y'all see that?
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) January 15, 2026
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After a TCU timeout, Boskovic grabbed an offensive board and scored on a second-chance jumper. Less than 30 seconds later, Saunders finished a driving layup off an assist from Wright III to keep the Cougars’ lead at five.
A TCU 3-pointer and jumper tied the game at 63 with 5:41 to play. Both teams then struggled from the field, particularly from beyond the arc. TCU’s David Punch was fouled but missed both free throws, and Saunders secured the rebound. Wright III broke the scoring drought with a basket to put BYU back in front with 3:36 remaining.
Wright III added two free throws to the mix, and the Horned Frogs came up short on their next possession. Saunders connected on a 3-ball off an assist from his sophomore teammate to make it a seven-point game with 2:14 left.
Following a TCU basket, Keita answered with a jumper and then recorded a defensive stop on the Horned Frogs’ next trip. TCU scored with 28 seconds remaining, but BYU maintained a six-point advantage.
Saunders made two free throws and Keita added one more to seal a 76-70 victory for the Cougars.
Up Next
BYU will travel to Lubbock, Texas on Saturday for a Top 15 matchup against No. 15 Texas Tech at 6 p.m. MST. Watch broadcast live on ESPN or listen to live play-by-play with Greg Wrubell on BYU Radio.