AJ Dybantsa scored 26 points, dished out seven assists, and collected eight rebounds to lead No. 10 BYU to a 100-53 victory over UC Riverside in Provo, Utah on Saturday night.
Richie Saunders added 19 points to help the Cougars (9-1) win their sixth straight game. Alexsej Kostic made five 3-pointers for a career-high 15 points and Khadim Mboup added career highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Keba Keita chipped in a game-high 11 rebounds.
BYU shot 59% from the floor and scored 20 points off of 18 turnovers. The Cougars outscored UC Riverside 54-26 in the paint and 29-6 on fastbreak points.
Andrew Henderson led UC Riverside (5-6) with 14 points and BJ Kolly added 12.
Saunders struggled to get going offensively in a 67-64 victory over Clemson on Tuesday after scoring five points on two made baskets. He had no such troubles against UC Riverside.
The senior guard scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting before halftime. He made four baskets in the first four minutes to help BYU jump out to a 15-5 lead.
Aleksej Kostic complemented Saunders with crisp outside shooting. Kostic had totaled just 13 points on four baskets over his first six games with BYU before making three 3-pointers and scoring nine points in the first half. He gave the Cougars an unexpected spark off the bench.
The last of Kostic’s three outside baskets ignited an 8-0 run that extended BYU’s lead to 37-18 before halftime.
BYU shot 60% from the field — including 6-of-9 from 3-point range — in the first half. The Cougars also forced 11 turnovers.
UC Riverside drew as close as five after Henderson’s first 3-pointer cut the deficit to 15-10 but never seriously threatened to erase BYU’s lead at any point.
Dybantsa slammed the door shut by helping to fuel a 30-5 run that put BYU up 83-42 with 9:07 left. He scored five baskets and assisted four others during the run and Khadim Mboup punctuated it with back-to-back layups.
–Field Level Media
