No. 21 BYU holds off late Kansas State rally for 72-66 victory
PROVO, Utah (AP) Fousseyni Traore scored 14 points and had eight rebounds to lead No. 21 BYU to a 72-66 victory over Kansas State on Saturday night.
Spencer Johnson and Jaxson Robinson added 12 points apiece for the Cougars (17-6, 5-5 Big 12) while Noah Waterman chipped in 11 points and Trevin Knell added 10. Aly Khalifa had a team-high six assists in his return to the lineup following a two-game absence because of the flu.
Arthur Kaluma led the Wildcats (15-9, 5-6) with 18 points and eight rebounds and Cam Carter added 14 points.
BYU led by 17 points in the second half, but Kansas State pulled within 66-64 with a run that included Kaluma’s 3-pointer with 1:11 left. Kaluma returned to help lead the rally after going to the locker room earlier in the second half with an ankle injury.
Robinson and Johnson countered with baskets in the final minute to help BYU keep the Wildcats from completing the comeback.
“We needed both of those buckets,” Robinson said. “Obviously, it all came down to the defensive end. We forced 16 turnovers and only turned the ball over seven times. Can’t complain about that.”
The Cougars missed five shots and three free throws over a five-minute stretch to open the door for Kansas State to rally.
“We just pressured the ball a lot more and picked up a little higher,” Kaluma said. “Went into a little bit of a press. I feel like we just had more energy.”
Kansas State struggled to find any consistent offensive rhythm during the first half. The Wildcats committed nine turnovers and scored one field goal over the final four minutes before halftime.
BYU scored 14 points off 16 Kansas State turnovers by game’s end.
“We said this was going to be a 15-round fight,” Kansas State coach Jerome Tang said. “The problem is they got to throw the last punch tonight instead of us.”
BYU did not fully capitalize on its tough first-half defense. The Cougars went 2 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half while also missing a few layups. Still, BYU built a 36-27 halftime lead by attacking the rim with Traore doing the most damage inside.
Tylor Perry’s flagrant foul on Traore was a turning point in the first half. Traore hit two free throws and made a layup to turn a two-point BYU lead into a six-point advantage.
Waterman and Johnson made back-to-back 3-pointers to extend BYU’s lead to 45-32 early in the second half. The Cougars pulled ahead 58-41 on Robinson’s 3-pointer.
BYU’s offense stagnated a bit late in the second half when the team missed open looks from the perimeter and at the rim.
“We got to the rim the way we wanted to. We got shots we wanted,” BYU coach Mark Pope said. “I liked us offensively. You’re going to go through little spells where things don’t go in and that’s why you win games defensively.”
Kansas State outrebounded BYU 42-34.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas State endured too many stretches with too many missed shots and turnovers to avoid losing its fifth straight road game.
BYU bullied Kansas State around the rim and applied enough defensive pressure to overcome a below-average shooting night from the perimeter.
UP NEXT
Kansas State hosts TCU on Saturday.
BYU hosts UCF on Tuesday night.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | (Wildcats gains possession) | |||
19:34 | Tylor Perry misses three point jump shot | |||
19:33 | Cam Carter offensive rebound | |||
19:22 | +3 | Dai Dai Ames makes three point jump shot (Cam Carter assists) | 3-0 | |
19:12 | +2 | Noah Waterman makes two point layup (Aly Khalifa assists) | 3-2 | |
18:46 | +3 | Dai Dai Ames makes three point jump shot (Arthur Kaluma assists) | 6-2 | |
18:30 | Cam Carter personal foul (Trevin Knell draws the foul) | |||
18:30 | +1 | Trevin Knell makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 6-3 | |
18:30 | +1 | Trevin Knell makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 6-4 | |
18:30 | +1 | Trevin Knell makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 6-5 | |
18:22 | Arthur Kaluma turnover (bad pass) (Trevin Knell steals) | |||
18:11 | Dallin Hall misses three point jump shot | |||
18:09 | Cam Carter defensive rebound | |||
17:53 | Dai Dai Ames misses three point jump shot | |||
17:51 | Dallin Hall defensive rebound | |||
17:38 | +2 | Trevin Knell makes two point jump shot | 6-7 | |
17:00 | Jerrell Colbert misses two point jump shot | |||
16:58 | Dallin Hall defensive rebound | |||
16:58 | Tylor Perry personal foul | |||
16:44 | Noah Waterman misses three point jump shot | |||
16:42 | Arthur Kaluma defensive rebound | |||
16:35 | Arthur Kaluma misses three point jump shot | |||
16:33 | Trevin Knell defensive rebound | |||
16:16 | Will McNair Jr. blocks Aly Khalifa's two point layup | |||
16:14 | Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound | |||
16:01 | +2 | Dai Dai Ames makes two point layup | 8-7 | |
15:44 | Aly Khalifa misses two point hook shot | |||
15:42 | Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound | |||
15:32 | Cam Carter misses three point jump shot | |||
15:30 | Spencer Johnson defensive rebound | |||
15:20 | +2 | Spencer Johnson makes two point reverse layup | 8-9 | |
14:58 | Tylor Perry turnover (lost ball) (Spencer Johnson steals) | |||
14:58 | TV timeout | |||
14:38 | Dallin Hall misses two point layup | |||
14:36 | Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound | |||
14:10 | +2 | Cam Carter makes two point jump shot (Will McNair Jr. assists) | 10-9 | |
13:50 | +2 | Jaxson Robinson makes two point jump shot | 10-11 | |
13:19 | +2 | Cam Carter makes two point jump shot | 12-11 | |
13:09 | Jaxson Robinson misses three point jump shot | |||
13:07 | Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound | |||
12:59 | Cam Carter turnover (bad pass) | |||
12:55 | David N'Guessan shooting foul (Fousseyni Traore draws the foul) | |||
12:55 | Fousseyni Traore misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
12:55 | +1 | Fousseyni Traore makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-12 | |
12:27 | Jerrell Colbert misses two point hook shot | |||
12:25 | Fousseyni Traore defensive rebound | |||
12:14 | Noah Waterman misses three point jump shot | |||
12:12 | Fousseyni Traore offensive rebound | |||
12:12 | Jaxson Robinson turnover (bad pass) | |||
12:01 | Jaxson Robinson personal foul (Jerrell Colbert draws the foul) | |||
11:50 | Cam Carter misses three point jump shot | |||
11:48 | Trey Stewart defensive rebound | |||
11:41 | Noah Waterman misses three point jump shot | |||
11:39 | Arthur Kaluma defensive rebound | |||
11:31 | Arthur Kaluma misses two point layup | |||
11:29 | Trey Stewart defensive rebound | |||
11:13 | +2 | Fousseyni Traore makes two point driving hook shot (Noah Waterman assists) | 12-14 | |
11:02 | Arthur Kaluma misses three point jump shot | |||
11:00 | Noah Waterman defensive rebound | |||
10:42 | Fousseyni Traore misses two point floating jump shot | |||
10:40 | Arthur Kaluma defensive rebound | |||
10:31 | +2 | David N'Guessan makes two point dunk (Jerrell Colbert assists) | 14-14 | |
10:20 | Jaxson Robinson misses three point jump shot | |||
10:18 | Jerrell Colbert defensive rebound | |||
10:15 | Jerrell Colbert turnover (lost ball) (Trey Stewart steals) | |||
10:15 | Jerrell Colbert personal foul | |||
10:15 | TV timeout | |||
9:57 | Dai Dai Ames personal foul (Trey Stewart draws the foul) | |||
9:50 | David N'Guessan blocks Spencer Johnson's three point jump shot | |||
9:48 | Cougars offensive rebound | |||
9:39 | +3 | Aly Khalifa makes three point jump shot (Jaxson Robinson assists) | 14-17 | |
9:20 | +2 | Will McNair Jr. makes two point layup | 16-17 | |
9:05 | +2 | Trey Stewart makes two point pullup jump shot | 16-19 | |
8:40 | Trey Stewart personal foul (Tylor Perry draws the foul) | |||
8:26 | Aly Khalifa shooting foul (Will McNair Jr. draws the foul) | |||
8:26 | Will McNair Jr. misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
8:26 | +1 | Will McNair Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 17-19 | |
8:13 | +2 | Jaxson Robinson makes two point dunk (Aly Khalifa assists) | 17-21 | |
7:55 | Will McNair Jr. turnover (lost ball) (Richie Saunders steals) | |||
7:46 | Richie Saunders misses two point layup | |||
7:44 | Trey Stewart offensive rebound | |||
7:37 | Trey Stewart misses three point jump shot | |||
7:35 | Arthur Kaluma defensive rebound | |||
7:30 | +2 | Cam Carter makes two point layup | 19-21 | |
7:24 | +2 | Jaxson Robinson makes two point layup | 19-23 | |
7:04 | Cam Carter misses two point jump shot | |||
7:02 | Aly Khalifa defensive rebound | |||
6:52 | Richie Saunders misses three point jump shot | |||
6:50 | Wildcats defensive rebound | |||
6:50 | TV timeout | |||
6:29 | Tylor Perry turnover (lost ball) (Fousseyni Traore steals) | |||
6:28 | Tylor Perry personal foul (Fousseyni Traore draws the foul) | |||
6:28 | +1 | Fousseyni Traore makes clear path free throw 1 of 2 | 19-24 | |
6:28 | +1 | Fousseyni Traore makes clear path free throw 2 of 2 | 19-25 | |
6:19 | +2 | Fousseyni Traore makes two point layup (Dallin Hall assists) | 19-27 | |
5:51 | Jerrell Colbert turnover (bad pass) | |||
5:24 | Jaxson Robinson misses two point jump shot | |||
5:22 | Will McNair Jr. defensive rebound | |||
4:55 | Cam Carter misses two point layup | |||
4:53 | Fousseyni Traore defensive rebound | |||
4:46 | Trevin Knell misses three point jump shot | |||
4:44 | Dallin Hall offensive rebound | |||
4:42 | Trevin Knell misses three point jump shot | |||
4:41 | Cam Carter defensive rebound | |||
4:31 | +2 | Arthur Kaluma makes two point layup | 21-27 | |
4:31 | Trevin Knell shooting foul (Arthur Kaluma draws the foul) | |||
4:31 | +1 | Arthur Kaluma makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 22-27 | |
4:15 | +3 | Aly Khalifa makes three point jump shot (Trevin Knell assists) | 22-30 | |
3:58 | +3 | Tylor Perry makes three point jump shot (Will McNair Jr. assists) | 25-30 | |
3:41 | Spencer Johnson misses two point layup | |||
3:39 | David N'Guessan defensive rebound | |||
3:34 | Arthur Kaluma misses two point layup | |||
3:32 | Noah Waterman defensive rebound | |||
3:24 | +2 | Aly Khalifa makes two point layup (Spencer Johnson assists) | 25-32 | |
3:24 | Will McNair Jr. shooting foul (Aly Khalifa draws the foul) | |||
3:24 | TV timeout | |||
3:24 | Aly Khalifa misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
3:06 | Dorian Finister defensive rebound | |||
3:02 | +2 | Arthur Kaluma makes two point layup | 27-32 | |
2:45 | +2 | Trevin Knell makes two point layup | 27-34 | |
2:35 | Tylor Perry misses three point jump shot | |||
2:33 | Spencer Johnson defensive rebound | |||
2:20 | Aly Khalifa offensive foul | |||
2:20 | Aly Khalifa turnover (offensive foul) | |||
1:58 | Dorian Finister misses two point jump shot | |||
1:56 | Dorian Finister offensive rebound | |||
1:49 | Dorian Finister turnover (lost ball) (Trey Stewart steals) | |||
1:44 | Dorian Finister personal foul (Spencer Johnson draws the foul) | |||
1:44 | Spencer Johnson misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
1:44 | Arthur Kaluma defensive rebound | |||
1:15 | Cam Carter misses two point floating jump shot | |||
1:13 | Fousseyni Traore defensive rebound | |||
1:03 | +2 | Spencer Johnson makes two point fadeaway jump shot (Trey Stewart assists) | 27-36 | |
0:45 | Tylor Perry misses three point jump shot | |||
0:43 | Spencer Johnson defensive rebound | |||
0:36 | Trey Stewart misses two point layup | |||
0:34 | Tylor Perry defensive rebound | |||
0:34 | Trey Stewart personal foul (Tylor Perry draws the foul) | |||
0:03 | Cam Carter misses two point layup | |||
0:02 | Cam Carter offensive rebound | |||
0:01 | Cam Carter turnover (traveling) | |||
0:01 | Cougars 30 second timeout | |||
0:01 | Wildcats 30 second timeout | |||
0:01 | Trevin Knell turnover (bad pass) | |||
0:01 | Will McNair Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
0:01 | Spencer Johnson defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |