MORGANTOWN, W.V. — AJ Dybantsa and Robert Wright III combined for 43 points, but it wasn’t enough as No. 19 BYU’s comeback effort came up short in a 79-71 loss to West Virginia on Saturday evening at Hope Coliseum.
In their first-ever loss at Hope Coliseum, BYU didn’t make a field goal for the final 7:59 of the first half as they saw a four-point lead turn into a 14-point deficit heading into halftime. The Cougars did outscore the Mountaineers 45-39 in the second half and cut the deficit to three points in the final minutes, but offensive rebounding proved to be the difference for WVU.
Wright III scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the first half as the sophomore went 7-of-15 from the field, 2-of-5 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line for his 11th 20-point game of the season.
Dybantsa scored 20 points for the eighth straight game and 22nd time this season, with the freshman going 7-of-15 from the field, 2-of-7 from three and 4-of-6 from the field to go along with seven rebounds.
Aleksej Kostic scored in double figures for a second straight game for the first time in his career as the freshman went 4-of-8 from behind the arc.
First Half
The guards traded points to begin the game, with WVU’s Floyd Jasper hitting a floater followed by a contested layup from Wright III. A pair of offensive rebounds resulted in a dunk for the Mountaineers while hitting a 3-pointer on a Cougar turnover to take a five-point lead, 7-2.
Keba Keita was rewarded with a dunk on an assist from Wright III after running the floor after pulling down a defensive rebound. Wright III spearheaded a 9-0 run for the Cougars as they held the Mountaineers without a field goal for more than six minutes. The sophomore hit back-to-back layups to give the visitors their first lead of the game. Aleksej Kostic connected on his first 3-pointer of the game on an extra pass from Kennard Davis Jr.
After four straight points from WVU, Wright III got the free throw line for two more as BYU retook the lead, 13-11. The teams traded baskets over the next few possessions, with Dybantsa getting a jumper to go, followed by another 3-pointer to Kostic. Wright III got into double figures in the first half for the 12th time this season with a corner 3-pointer.
Dybantsa went 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give BYU a 22-20 lead before the Mountaineers went on a 8-0 run, including five points from WVU’s leading scorer Honor Huff. Dybantsa returned to the free throw line following the under-four-minute media timeout, going 1-of-2 for the second time in the opening half to end the Mountaineer run.
The Mountaineers would outscore the Cougars 12-3 over the final 3 minutes, 30 seconds as BYU went without a field goal for 7:59 of the first half.
Second Half
BYU went on a 7-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half to cut the deficit to seven, 40-33, and force a Mountaineer timeout. Davis Jr. knocked down a pair of free throws for BYU’s first second-chance points. Dybantsa got to the lane for a lay-up with Kostic knocking down his third 3-pointer of the game following a steal from Wright III.
A 3-pointer from WVU’s Treysen Eaglestaff ended the run, but Kostic connected on another 3-pointer a minute later to cut the deficit to 46-36. AJ Dybantsa scored seven straight points to keep the Cougars within striking distance at 52-43 with 11:53 remaining in the game.
The deficit continued to hover around double figures before a 6-1 run with under five minutes remaining made it a five-point game. Wright III connected on his second and final 3-pointer of the game, followed by an old-fashioned 3-point play from Keba Keita to make it 71-66 with 3:00 minutes remaining in regulation.
WVU’s Chance Moore went 1-of-2 from the free throw line to add to the Mountaineers' lead, but Dybansta knocked down a 3-pointer on BYU’s next possession down the floor. Keita scored the last points for the Cougars as the Mountaineers closed the game out from the free-throw line.
Up Next
No. 19 BYU concludes the road portion of its regular season on Tuesday, March 4, when the Cougars face Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.