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BYU senior Spencer Johnson addresses the crowd on Senior Night after an 85-71 victory against Oklahoma State at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 9, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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Oklahoma State Cowboys guard John-Michael Wright (51) defends BYU guard Jaxson Robinson as he drives to the basket during an NCAA college basketball game in Provo, Utah, Saturday, March 9, 2024.

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News via AP

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BYU forward Fousseyni Traore (45) pushes up a shot over Oklahoma State center Mike Marsh (32) during an NCAA college basketball game in Provo, Utah, Saturday, March 9, 2024.

Scott G Winterton. Deseret News via AP

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BYU's Spencer Johnson dribbles to the goal against Oklahoma State in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 9, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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If you’re a BYU opponent, you have to wonder when the 3-point onslaught is coming.

It’s not as if the Cougars gave Oklahoma State any warning it was going to suddenly find the range from distance to start the second half, the key component of an 85-71 Senior Night victory in front of a sellout crowd (17,978) in the Marriott Center on Saturday that locked up the No. 5 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament.

After an icy 4 for 19 performance (21%) from beyond the arc in a close first half the Cougars made their first four from 3-point range to open the second and connected on 6 of 8 from distance in a devastating 30-6 run to take control of the game.

Must have been some halftime speech, huh?

“The team does such a good job of just talking to each other,” Spencer Johnson said, “just talking through what we’re seeing out there and what we’re feeling.”

Cougar coach Mark Pope said he usually meets with his coaching staff and halftime and gives the players four or five minutes to have their own meeting.

“They cover all the topics and probably the past six, seven games, by the time I get into the locker room, all I’m doing is repeating exactly what they’ve already covered. That’s why this group is really special.”

Fousseyni Traoe led BYU with 19 points, 13 in the second half and punished the Cowboys inside. Jaxson Robinson and Spencer Johnson, playing their final game in the Marriott Center, made it a memorable night: Robinson finished with 17 points and Johnson scored all 14 of his points in the second half, adding 10 rebounds and five assists.

“Obviously there was a lot of emotion going into the game with it being Senior Night with me and Spence but I think we did a really great job of just staying focused on the task at hand,” Robinson said. “It was a game of runs and they went on a couple of runs, but we slowed them down and came out with a win.”

“How about the crowd tonight, too?” Johnson said. “Our crowd always shows out but tonight felt special.”

BYU was 8 of 12 from the 3-point line in the second half and shot 18 of 26 (69%) from the field.

Holding a a slim 32-29 halftime lead, Johnson led the Cougars on a 16-2 spurt in the first five minutes of the second half, making a pair of 3-pointers, driving in for a score and sending a behind-the-back pass to Aly Khalifa for a triple. Trevin Knell made the Cougars 4-for-4 from distance to start the half and gave his team a 48-31 lead with 15:40 remaining. BYU’s lead continued to grow and 3-pointers from Robinson and Richie Saunders, along with a power move from Traore, gave the Cougars a 60-37 advantage with 10:51 to play.

In total it was a 30-6 run to open the second half and a Robinson drive gave BYU its largest lead at 25 points, 62-37, with 10:06 remaining.

“In the locker room I felt like it all started from there with the communication,” Robinson said. “We knew that there were some things that we normally do that we weren’t doing so we just made a great adjustment going into the second half and it paid off. We shot 66% from three in the second half so that’s pretty incredible.”

Javon Small then got ridiculously hot for the Cowboys. He had 13 points in a 14-2 run aided by three straight Cougar turnovers to trim the deficit to 64-51 with 7:27 to go and eventually Oklahoma State got within ten, 67-57, with 6:12 to play. But that was as close as the visitors could get, despite Small scoring 29 of his team’s 42 points in the second half.

The first half was ragged and slow-paced, feeling more like an early December game than a matchup late in the Big 12 schedule. Turnovers and clanked 3-pointers were aplenty on both sides early. At the first TV time out, both teams had made two triples for a 6-6 tie. Robinson, who led the Cougars in the first half with 10 points, got to the rim and pushed the offense out of the doldrums for a 10-8 lead at the 12:25 mark.

Robinson also had a pair of 3-point plays for an 18-12 advantage with 8:11 to play and BYU led by nine, 28-19, on a Traore score with 4:04 to go. Oklahoma State made 5 of its final 6 field goals to close the gap, including a stunning drive and one-handed dunk from Eric Dailey Jr. to close to 32-29 at halftime.

Small led the Cowboys (12-19 overall, 4-14 Big 12) with 34 points, a career high.

BYU (22-9, 10-8) now awaits its first trip the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. As the No. 5 seed, the Cougars play on Wednesday in a second round game. They face the winner of a first round matchup between No. 12 UCF and No. 13 Oklahoma State. The game is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. Mountain Time tip at the T-Mobile Center and will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.

Johnson took the microphone after the game to thank the BYU fans.

“The last four years have been an absolute dream,” he said. “But we’re not done. We’ve still got games to win.”

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