Veterans Lead BYU Basketball to Road Win Over Arizona State
On Wednesday night, BYU basketball took down Arizona State 91-81 in Tempe to improve to 11-6 in conference play. The win marked BYU’s fifth consecutive win, the longest conference winning streak since the Cougars joined the Big 12. It was also the third consecutive game scoring 90 points or more. It was the veterans that carried BYU against Arizona State.
Veterans Richie Saunders and Trevin Knell got off to a red-hot start and BYU never looked back. Those two made their first five threes in the first five minutes of the game. Saunders led all scorers with 26 points and 6 rebounds. Trevin Knell finished with 18 points on 6/7 shooting.
BYU shot it well from three throughout the night. The Cougars made a season-high 17 threes out of 34 attempts. It was just two shy of the program record for threes made in a single game. Seemingly anytime Arizona State started a run, BYU answered with a three.
In the second half, it was point guard Dallin Hall who answered multiple ASU runs with key shots. Hall finished with 13 points and 4 assists. Hall had 9 points in the second half.
The lone critique from this game would be free throw shooting. If not for missed free throws, BYU would have approached 100 points. BYU shot 6/15 from the free throw line including 3/11 in the second half. BYU’s free throw woes nearly cost them in the closing minute against Arizona, so that’s an area where BYU can still improve as the calendar turns to March.
BYU returns home after a long weekend in Arizona to take on West Virginia on Saturday.
