PROVO, Utah — Richie Saunders, AJ Dybantsa and Robert Wright III combined to score 81 points in No. 9 BYU's 104-76 victory over Arizona State on Wednesday evening at the Marriott Center.
Saunders and Wright III finished with career-highs while Dybantsa scored 20-plus for the eight straight game as the Cougars shot 57.4 percent from the field, 45.2 percent from three and 80.0 percent from the free throw line.
The 6-foot-5 senior scored a career-high 31 points going 10-of-13 from the field, 6-of-8 from three and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. In his last three meetings against Arizona State, Saunders is shooting 60.0 percent from behind the arc, 18-of-30. He also had a team-high eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“I thought Richie was super locked in, and that’s what we talked about coming into the game," head coach Kevin Young said. "I just challenged the group to start the game and leave no doubt who’s the more focused team. I thought he set the stage there. His scoring was the product of our spacing, our unselfishness and obviously, his individual greatness. It was a great night for him.”
Wright III also finished with a career-high as the sophomore finisehd with 27 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. He went 9-of-15 from the field, 3-of-6 from three and 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
For the eighth-straight game, AJ Dybantsa has scored 20 or more points, tied for the eighth-longest streak in program history. Dybantsa posted 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.
Wednesday marked the second time this season the trio has scored 20-points in the same game while their 81 combined points are tied for the seventh-most in a single game in program history.
First Half
Both teams came out hot, sinking 3-pointers on each of their first possessions to knot the game early at 3-apiece after Dybansta’s three.
The Cougars then went on a 13-0 run with Saunders and Wright hitting from beyond the arc and Dybansta dropping in back to back jumpers from the elbow. The run featured four blocks from Abdullah Ahmed, Dybansta and Kennard Davis Jr. to keep the Sun Devils scoreless over the three minute run.
Arizona State showed some life going on a 5-0 run of their own before Saunders’ and-one layup kicked off a 9-4 Cougar run. The run was highlighted by a Dybansta steal and back to back points in the paint for Wright III. Saunders then stole a pass and went coast-to-coast, laying it in, pushing the Cougars lead to 28-19 with 9:37 remaining in the half. On the subsequent possession Ahmed recorded his third block of the night forcing the fourth turnover by the Sun Devils.
Saunders dropped in a layup before Dybansta’s defensive pressure forced a Sun Devils ten second violation preserving BYU’s double digit lead with the Cougars leading 35-21. Arizona State then went on a 6-2 run to cut the margin to ten before Saunders hit a stepback three pushing the lead to 13 with 3:11 left in the half.
The Sun Devils and the Cougars ended the half the same way they started it, trading buckets from beyond the arc with the Cougars leading 45-30 at the break.
Second Half
Dybantsa opened the half on an and-one layup to kick off a Cougar 10-5 run with Saunders scoring eight straight for BYU. A block by Khadim Mboup and an Arizona State travel set up a Saunders fast break three stretching BYU’s lead to 21 with the Cougars up 58-37.
With 15:05 left Saunders stole a pass and sent it the other way with Tyler Mrus setting up Dybansta for a fast break three-pointer. The Cougars then added to their lead on a 7-0 run highlighted by an Ahmed and-one layup off an offensive rebound. This forced a Sun Devils timeout with BYU leading 69-40.
The Cougars continued the run pushing the lead to 30 after Wright III hit a shot from outside the arc with 10:35 remaining. Saunders scored the next five points capping the personal run with a three-pointer with Kennard Davis credited with the assist.
BYU then continued to stretch the deficit for Arizona State by going on a 5-2 run on a Davis layup and Mrus three-pointer to put the Cougars up 83-51 with 7:27 left.
Dybansta kicked off another 7-0 run for the Cougars, tossing up an alley-oop to Mboup that was capped by a Dybansta steal, setting up a fast break three for Saunders assisted by Wright III.
The Sun Devils fought back, going on a 14-4 run over the next two minutes to cut the deficit to 32 with 3:37 remaining. BYU and Arizona State then traded points down the stretch to end the game with the Cougars winning 104-76.
Up Next
The Cougars take on in-state rival Utah in the Huntsman Center on Saturday,Jan. 10 at 8:00 p.m. MST with streaming on ESPN.