Key Highlights
- 6 Iowa State on Saturday night, and understandably so. The freshman phenom enjoyed arguably his finest performance to date, scoring 29 points with 10 rebounds, nine assists and outstanding defense. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, some of BYU’s more unheralded players were just as crucial in securing Saturday’s much-needed, confidence-boosting signature victory. With Richie Saunders out for the season, Dybantsa and Rob Wright III have and will continue to shoulder a much heavier load (each star played all 40 minutes against Iowa State), but against the Cyclones, for the first time in nearly a month, every BYU player (not including Saunders) combined to outscore Dybantsa and Wright. Kennard Davis Jr., Mihailo Boskovic, Keba Keita and Khadim Mboup provided a collective 44 points and 25 rebounds, marking BYU’s highest non-Brig 3 scoring output in a single game since Dec.
- 13 against UC Riverside.“I think there’s a lot to be said about opportunity and confidence.
- Those guys understand that now that Richie is out, their numbers are going to get called more,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“...
- I think it’s a little bit easier to get into a rhythm when you have that mindset, but at the same time, they get all the credit because they’ve stayed ready and they’ve been able to deliver.”On Saturday the tone was set from the jump, as BYU’s first seven points of the contest came outside of Dybantsa and Wright — Keita caught a lob for a slam dunk, Boskovic hit a 3-pointer and Davis got a layup from an offensive rebound.“It was nice.
- It definitely helps your confidence, especially, because it takes a load off of (Dybantsa) and Rob at the beginning of the game, and then it kind of picks up the wind towards the end of the first half,” Boskovic said of the hot start. Additionally, seven of the Cougars’ final eight made field goals in the second half came from that same group, along with Mboup. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDavis finished as BYU’s second-leading scorer with 17 points (including three 3-pointers) and also grabbed four offensive rebounds. At a crucial moment in the second half, he threw down a dunk in transition to prompt an Iowa State timeout and triple-digit decibel response from the Marriott Center crowd.“I was surprised he even did that,” a tongue in cheek Dybantsa said postgame.