SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — No. 25 BYU overcame an early double-digit deficit to defeat Ohio State 94-83 on Monday evening in the Bad Boy Mowers Classic at the Delta Center.
Robert Wright III scored 21 of his game-high 35 points in the second half as the preseason All-American went 10 of 16 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range and 11-for-12 from the free throw line. Tyler Betsey finished with 15 points, knocking down four 3-pointers, while fellow newcomer Collin Chandler added 15 of his own, including a dunk in crunch time.
Jaxson Kohler (11) and Bruce Branch III (10) both scored in double figures as Monday marked the first time five Cougars scored 10-plus in the same game since their last visit to the home of the Utah Jazz, a 91-60 victory over Cal Baptist on Dec. 3, 2025.
“I think we just played to our identity,” head coach Kevin Young said. “I thought in the first half they put us in mud a little bit, particularly the first five or six minutes. But the message for our guys coming into the game was just don’t make stuff up. This can be a very dynamic offensive team, so to hang 60 points in a half on somebody of that caliber is impressive.”
After trailing by as much as 11 points in the first half, BYU outscored the Buckeyes 60-46 in the second half, shooting 69.0 percent from the field, 70.0 percent from behind the arc and 86.7 percent from the free throw line. After opening the game 2 of 10 from 3-point range, BYU made eight of their final 14 attempts from deep.
With Monday night’s win, Young remained perfect in season debuts as head coach of the Cougars and notched his 50th career win.
First Half
Ohio State got the scoring started with a corner 3-pointer, but Wright III drove into the lane on the next possession and drew a foul and converted both free throws to open the scoring for the Cougars. BYU added a corner 3-pointer from Betsey, but Ohio State answered with five points to take an 8-5 lead entering the first media timeout.
An and-one and a putback layup extended the Buckeye lead to 13-5 before BYU got back on the board with a layup from Kohler in his first game as a Cougar.
The Buckeyes made their next four field goal attempts to push their lead to double digits. Wright III got BYU back on the board with a driving layup, and the Cougars entered the final eight minutes of the first half trailing 24-15.
Branch III found Chandler in the corner for a 3-pointer, then added a layup of his own on the next possession to bring BYU back within four. Ohio State junior Justin Pippen scored a quick, contested jumper before Wright III finished a floater as the shot clock expired to keep it a four-point game.
Rob in double figures and the Cougs fighting back. 📺 FS1 https://t.co/pOX1D6yf3s
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 3, 2026
Wright III kept his foot on the gas, scoring the next four points for BYU and bringing his first-half total to 14. Ohio State knocked down two quick 3-pointers before Betsey drained his second shot of the game from beyond the arc, cutting the Buckeye lead to three. Both teams exchanged another long ball to close the half, with Ohio State entering the break up 37-34.
Second Half
It was all Cougars to open the second half, with a Chandler 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper from Branch III to give BYU its first lead of the game. Another Chandler bucket and a corner triple from Wright III made it a 10-2 Cougar run. Wright III then responded to a pair of Buckeye layups with an and-one layup that pushed him to 20 points on the night.
The early scoring flurry continued for BYU as Kohler bullied his way into the paint and finished an and-one of his own, extending the Cougar lead to seven.
Ohio State answered with seven points, tying the game at 50-50. Wright’s hot hand stayed sharp on the other end as he dropped in another floater. He drained a step-back 3-pointer from the top of the key on the next trip down to put BYU back up three.
Five straight points from the Buckeyes forced the third lead change of the game. Back-to-back buckets from Kohler and Chandler, followed by another 3-pointer from Betsey, put BYU back in the driver’s seat. Kohler kept it going, scoring four straight points to extend the Cougar lead back to seven and force an Ohio State timeout.
BYU continued to find the bottom of the net, responding to a pair of Buckeye free throws with another seven-point run. The Buckeyes fought to trim the lead to six, but BYU kept them at arm’s length and entered the final media timeout with a 77-71 lead.
The Cougars continued to surge, beginning with Betsey knocking down his fourth 3-pointer of the night to tie the team high. They followed that with a dunk from Chandler and an alley-oop from Wright III to Branch III that all but put the game away.
SPECTACULAR 🤩 📺 FS1 https://t.co/yHZlbZzMLX
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 3, 2026
Wright III added a late 3-pointer to push the Cougar lead back to 13, and up his total on the night to a team-high 33. One final highlight-reel alley-oop from Wright to Khadim Mboup put the icing on the cake of a 94-83 victory.
Up Next
The Cougars return to Provo for their home opener against Omaha on Friday, Nov. 6, at the Marriott Center. Tip is set for 7 p.m. MT, with streaming available on ESPN+ and play-by-play available on BYU Radio.