Richie Saunders scored a career-high 31 points and collected eight rebounds to lead No. 9 BYU to a 104-76 victory over Arizona State in Provo, Utah on Wednesday night.
Saunders went 10-of-13 from the field and made six 3-pointers. He averaged 28.0 points in two wins over Arizona State last season.
AJ Dybantsa tallied 23 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for the Cougars. Rob Wright III added 27 points. BYU (14-1, 2-0 Big 12) won its 11th straight game after shooting 57.4% from the field and blocking 10 shots.
Anthony Johnson scored 24 points to lead the Sun Devils. Massamba Diop chipped in 22 points and nine boards.
Arizona State (9-6, 0-2) suffered its fourth straight loss after allowing 22 points off 15 turnovers.
BYU used a 13-0 run to jump out to a 16-6 lead. Dybantsa hit a pair of jumpers and three free throws to power the run. Arizona State missed nine straight shots before Diop and Maurice Odum made back-to-back baskets to end the drought.
The Sun Devils struggled to find their shot again later in the first half, missing six straight shots on two occasions over a nine-minute stretch. That allowed the Cougars to rebuild a double-digit lead behind a 7-0 run. The Cougars’ lead ballooned to 15 points by the intermission.
Arizona State ended up shooting just 27.5% from the field in the first half, connecting on 11 of 40 field goal attempts. BYU made 53.3% of its field goal attempts before halftime, going 16-of-30 from the field.
BYU scored on its first four second-half possessions and used a 20-5 run to go up 70-40 with 11:42 left. Saunders led the way, making three baskets and a pair of free throws over a 2:29 span to help the Cougars pull away.
–Field Level Media
