Noah Waterman, Jaxson Robinson lead No. 21 BYU to an 84-72 win over Texas
PROVO, Utah (AP) Noah Waterman and Jaxson Robinson scored 17 points apiece to lead No. 21 BYU to an 84-72 victory over Texas on Saturday.
Fousseyni Traore had 16 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots, and Richie Saunders and Spencer Johnson added 11 points apiece as the Cougars (15-5, 3-4 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak. BYU shot 64% from the field and outscored Texas 40-26 in the paint.
The 40 points in the paint were the most BYU scored against a Big 12 opponent this season.
“They were really cautious about us shooting,” Waterman said. “They were really top locking us, so we just exposed them with backdoors, late cuts, and things like that.”
Dylan Disu led the Longhorns with 19 points. Chendall Weaver added 15 points and Max Abmas finished with 12. Texas (14-6, 3-4) scored 17 points off 16 BYU turnovers, yet trailed the entire second half.
The Longhorns also limited the Cougars to 17 3-point field goal attempts - a season-low for BYU - but could not string together enough stops when it mattered to capitalize on effective perimeter defense.
“Our goal was to make them take tough 2s and take the 3s away, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said. “At times, we got spread out a little bit and they hurt us in the paint with their cuts and their passing ability.”
BYU broke open a close game with hot shooting in the second half. The Cougars made nine consecutive baskets to build a 72-55 lead with 8:30 remaining. Robinson and Traore each had three baskets in the run.
Texas never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
BYU has led at halftime in six of seven Big 12 games so far, but the Cougars have regularly blown those leads and lost three of those contests after slow starts in the second half. Their second-half performance against the Longhorns went against that trend.
“We’re always locked in,” Robinson said. “Things don’t always go our way, but I think tonight we were really dialed in just in the aspect of defense. Transition defense. Defensive rebounding. That was our main focus and it just led to more offensive points.”
BYU outscored Texas 18-0 in the paint in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Cougars attacked the rim and went on a 12-2 run. Saunders capped the outburst with a dunk off a steal, giving BYU a 26-21 lead.
Robinson accounted for three of five baskets in a later 11-2 run that extended the Cougars’ lead to 41-31. Texas countered with five straight baskets, punctuated by a jumper from Abmas, cutting the deficit to a point at 42-41 just before halftime.
That’s as good as it got for the Longhorns, who trailed over the game’s final 30 minutes after the Cougars made 14 of their first 17 shots in the second half.
“They made us do something different and the guys did their best job trying to execute it,” BYU coach Mark Pope said.
BIG PICTURE
Texas struggled on interior defense while frequently pressuring the perimeter and left open lanes for BYU to drive to the basket on many possessions.
BYU did not settle for simply tossing up deep 3-pointers early in the shot clock, and instead worked to create higher percentage shots. It helped the Cougars find an early rhythm on offense.
UP NEXT
Texas: Hosts Houston on Monday.
BYU: Visits West Virginia on Saturday.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Dylan Disu vs. Noah Waterman (Dillon Mitchell gains possession) | |||
19:46 | Spencer Johnson personal foul | |||
19:30 | +2 | Dillon Mitchell makes two point jump shot (Tyrese Hunter assists) | 2-0 | |
19:08 | Spencer Johnson turnover | |||
18:53 | Dillon Mitchell misses two point jump shot | |||
18:51 | Tyrese Hunter offensive rebound | |||
18:46 | Aly Khalifa blocks Dylan Disu's two point jump shot | |||
18:44 | Aly Khalifa defensive rebound | |||
18:30 | Noah Waterman misses three point jump shot | |||
18:28 | Dylan Disu defensive rebound | |||
18:13 | +3 | Dylan Disu makes three point jump shot (Tyrese Hunter assists) | 5-0 | |
17:48 | Aly Khalifa misses three point jump shot | |||
17:46 | Spencer Johnson offensive rebound | |||
17:31 | +2 | Noah Waterman makes two point layup | 5-2 | |
17:06 | +2 | Dylan Disu makes two point jump shot | 7-2 | |
16:50 | +2 | Noah Waterman makes two point layup (Dallin Hall assists) | 7-4 | |
16:23 | +3 | Tyrese Hunter makes three point jump shot (Ithiel Horton assists) | 10-4 | |
16:08 | Aly Khalifa misses three point jump shot | |||
16:06 | Cougars offensive rebound | |||
15:57 | +2 | Aly Khalifa makes two point layup | 10-6 | |
15:42 | +3 | Ithiel Horton makes three point jump shot (Tyrese Hunter assists) | 13-6 | |
15:28 | Spencer Johnson misses two point layup | |||
15:26 | Spencer Johnson offensive rebound | |||
15:23 | +2 | Spencer Johnson makes two point layup | 13-8 | |
15:01 | Tyrese Hunter turnover (Aly Khalifa steals) | |||
14:43 | +2 | Jaxson Robinson makes two point jump shot | 13-10 | |
14:21 | +3 | Max Abmas makes three point jump shot (Dillon Mitchell assists) | 16-10 | |
14:03 | +2 | Noah Waterman makes two point layup (Aly Khalifa assists) | 16-12 | |
13:40 | Dallin Hall personal foul | |||
13:40 | TV timeout | |||
13:36 | Dylan Disu misses two point jump shot | |||
13:34 | Fousseyni Traore defensive rebound | |||
13:25 | Dylan Disu shooting foul (Fousseyni Traore draws the foul) | |||
13:25 | +1 | Fousseyni Traore makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 16-13 | |
13:25 | +1 | Fousseyni Traore makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-14 | |
13:15 | Brock Cunningham misses three point jump shot | |||
13:13 | Dallin Hall defensive rebound | |||
13:04 | Jaxson Robinson turnover (traveling) | |||
12:36 | Max Abmas misses three point jump shot | |||
12:34 | Chendall Weaver offensive rebound | |||
12:21 | +3 | Tyrese Hunter makes three point jump shot | 19-14 | |
11:47 | Tyrese Hunter personal foul | |||
11:47 | TV timeout | |||
11:47 | +1 | Trevin Knell makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 19-15 | |
11:47 | +1 | Trevin Knell makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 19-16 | |
11:35 | Fousseyni Traore blocks Chendall Weaver's two point layup | |||
11:33 | Chendall Weaver offensive rebound | |||
11:24 | Chendall Weaver misses two point layup | |||
11:22 | Fousseyni Traore defensive rebound | |||
11:18 | +3 | Richie Saunders makes three point jump shot (Dallin Hall assists) | 19-19 | |
10:58 | +2 | Brock Cunningham makes two point jump shot (Tyrese Hunter assists) | 21-19 | |
10:39 | +2 | Fousseyni Traore makes two point layup | 21-21 | |
10:29 | Brock Cunningham turnover | |||
10:17 | +2 | Dallin Hall makes two point layup | 21-23 | |
10:17 | Chendall Weaver shooting foul (Dallin Hall draws the foul) | |||
10:17 | +1 | Dallin Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 21-24 | |
10:03 | Max Abmas turnover (Spencer Johnson steals) | |||
9:57 | +2 | Richie Saunders makes two point dunk (Spencer Johnson assists) | 21-26 | |
9:55 | Longhorns 30 second timeout | |||
9:37 | Max Abmas misses two point jump shot | |||
9:35 | Dylan Disu offensive rebound | |||
9:32 | +2 | Dylan Disu makes two point layup | 23-26 | |
9:12 | +2 | Fousseyni Traore makes two point layup | 23-28 | |
9:01 | Dallin Hall personal foul | |||
8:51 | +2 | Chendall Weaver makes two point layup (Dillon Mitchell assists) | 25-28 | |
8:32 | Richie Saunders misses three point jump shot | |||
8:30 | Dylan Disu defensive rebound | |||
8:17 | Ithiel Horton misses two point jump shot | |||
8:15 | Spencer Johnson defensive rebound | |||
8:08 | Trevin Knell offensive foul | |||
8:08 | Trevin Knell turnover (offensive foul) | |||
7:58 | Dylan Disu misses two point jump shot | |||
7:56 | Richie Saunders defensive rebound | |||
7:47 | Aly Khalifa misses three point jump shot | |||
7:45 | Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound | |||
7:35 | Dillon Mitchell misses two point layup | |||
7:33 | Spencer Johnson defensive rebound | |||
7:20 | Spencer Johnson turnover (Dillon Mitchell steals) | |||
7:20 | Aly Khalifa personal foul | |||
7:18 | TV timeout | |||
7:18 | Dillon Mitchell misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
7:18 | Dillon Mitchell misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
7:18 | Trevin Knell defensive rebound | |||
6:55 | Noah Waterman turnover (Tyrese Hunter steals) | |||
6:50 | Jaxson Robinson shooting foul (Chendall Weaver draws the foul) | |||
6:50 | +1 | Chendall Weaver makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 26-28 | |
6:50 | +1 | Chendall Weaver makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 27-28 | |
6:29 | Spencer Johnson misses two point layup | |||
6:27 | Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound | |||
6:15 | Aly Khalifa blocks Ze'Rik Onyema's two point layup | |||
6:13 | Aly Khalifa defensive rebound | |||
5:59 | +2 | Jaxson Robinson makes two point layup (Aly Khalifa assists) | 27-30 | |
5:37 | +2 | Tyrese Hunter makes two point jump shot | 29-30 | |
5:24 | +3 | Jaxson Robinson makes three point jump shot | 29-33 | |
5:05 | Ze'Rik Onyema offensive foul | |||
5:05 | Ze'Rik Onyema turnover (offensive foul) | |||
4:49 | +2 | Dallin Hall makes two point layup | 29-35 | |
4:49 | Tyrese Hunter personal foul (Dallin Hall draws the foul) | |||
4:49 | +1 | Dallin Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 29-36 | |
4:33 | Max Abmas misses three point jump shot | |||
4:31 | Longhorns offensive rebound | |||
4:11 | Max Abmas misses two point jump shot | |||
4:09 | Aly Khalifa defensive rebound | |||
3:57 | Aly Khalifa turnover (Chendall Weaver steals) | |||
3:49 | +2 | Kadin Shedrick makes two point dunk (Ithiel Horton assists) | 31-36 | |
3:39 | +3 | Noah Waterman makes three point jump shot (Aly Khalifa assists) | 31-39 | |
3:11 | Max Abmas misses three point jump shot | |||
3:09 | Jaxson Robinson defensive rebound | |||
2:52 | +2 | Jaxson Robinson makes two point layup (Aly Khalifa assists) | 31-41 | |
2:52 | Max Abmas shooting foul (Jaxson Robinson draws the foul) | |||
2:52 | TV timeout | |||
2:52 | Jaxson Robinson misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
2:52 | Dylan Disu defensive rebound | |||
2:39 | Jaxson Robinson blocks Dylan Disu's two point layup | |||
2:37 | Dylan Disu offensive rebound | |||
2:34 | +2 | Dylan Disu makes two point layup | 33-41 | |
2:10 | Cougars 30 second timeout | |||
2:01 | Aly Khalifa misses two point jump shot | |||
1:59 | Tyrese Hunter defensive rebound | |||
1:47 | +2 | Dillon Mitchell makes two point dunk (Dylan Disu assists) | 35-41 | |
1:33 | Aly Khalifa turnover (Max Abmas steals) | |||
1:23 | +2 | Dylan Disu makes two point jump shot | 37-41 | |
1:07 | Jaxson Robinson misses two point layup | |||
1:06 | Richie Saunders offensive rebound | |||
1:06 | Dylan Disu personal foul (Richie Saunders draws the foul) | |||
1:06 | +1 | Richie Saunders makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 37-42 | |
1:06 | Richie Saunders misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
1:06 | Dillon Mitchell defensive rebound | |||
0:53 | +2 | Chendall Weaver makes two point layup | 39-42 | |
0:41 | Fousseyni Traore turnover (Chendall Weaver steals) | |||
0:21 | +2 | Max Abmas makes two point jump shot | 41-42 | |
0:01 | +2 | Spencer Johnson makes two point layup | 41-44 | |
0:00 | End of period |