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BYU's Richie Saunders goes up for a shot in a men's college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Robert Wright III goes in for a layup in a men's college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's AJ Dybantsa takes a jumper in a men's college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU players signal a 3-point make in a men's college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's AJ Dybantsa gathers himself in the key in a men's college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Kennard Davis Jr. goes up for a shot in a men's college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Robert Wright III drives to the basket in a men's college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Richie Saunders drives to the basket in a men's college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

❮ ❯

The BYU men’s basketball team can get you with its offense or its defense.

Some nights, it’s a combination of both.

Pacific got to experience both barrels on Tuesday and the result was a 93-57 BYU win in the Marriott Center.

Richie Saunders (24 points), AJ Dybantsa (23) and Robert Wright III (22) combined for 69 points, taking turns attacking Pacific either in the half court or in transition. The 10th-ranked Cougars produced a season high 13 steals and held big advantages in points off turnovers (25-9) and fast break points (26-11), mostly due to great defense turning into a deadly transition game.

“Our defense was phenomenal,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. “It was all really fueled by our defense, which has been really good. Stops, No. 1, but even after makes, and this is where it bleeds into the ‘kick ahead pass,’ is what we call it. We really love playing with the pass in transition. I think it puts teams on their heels. If you’re not ready to get back on defense against us, I think you could be in for a long night. And when we’re playing that way is when we’re at our best.”

Saunders, Dybantsa and Wright became the first BYU trio to scored 20 or more points in a game since 2020, when TJ Haws (28), Yoeli Childs (22) and Jake Toolson (20) did the trick against Santa Clara.

Saunders, Dybantsa and Wright did their damage in a variety of ways. Saunders was 3 of 4 from the 3-point line and sank 11 of 12 free throws while contributing five steals. Dybantsa scored eight points in less than three minutes to close out the first half and added ten rebounds for his first college double-double. Wright scored 16 of his 22 in the second half and also also totaled five rebounds, four assists and five steals.

“I think it’s going to be hard for teams to pick their poison,” Dybantsa said. “A game like this kind of exemplified that. If you want to go steal out on Richie, then Rob has an open lane, or vice versa for any one of us. So I think if we can keep doing that and continue doing that, then we’re going to blow teams up.”

Another key contributor was 6-foot-7 junior Tyler Mrus, who played a season high 20 minutes because freshman guard Aleksej Kostic was ill and didn’t suit up. Mrus came into the game a frigid 3 of 21 (14%) from the 3-point line but made all four triples he attempted and scored a BYU career-high 15 points.

“Finally, some shots fell for me,” Mrus said. “It was just the confidence that my teammates gave me. They kept passing me the ball and keep telling me to keep shooting the ball and just instilling confidence in me.”

It was a slow shooting start for both teams (a combined 8 of 29, 28%) but the Cougars broke out of the slump first. Mrus had a pair of 3-pointers to key a 12-0 run for a 28-10 lead with under five minutes to play in the first half. Saunders scored five points and fed Dybantsa for a dunk on the break and BYU led 41-20 at the break.

Pacific was 0 for 11 from beyond the arc in the first half but started 4 of 6 in the second. A basket inside by Isaac Jack trimmed the deficit to nine, 49-40, with 14 minutes remaining.

The Cougars then erupted on an 18-0 run, starting with a Dybantsa triple and ending with a 67-40 BYU advantage with 10:06 to play. Wright scored on a couple of slick drives and banged in a pair of 3-pointers as the Cougar lead kept growing, reaching 41 points, 88-47, with 3:29 to go.

“We were just trying to be the aggressors, get stops and get out in transition, trying to score some easy ones,” Wright said. “I feel like we did that and that opened the game back up.”

Kajus Kublickas scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to lead Pacific (8-4).

BYU (10-1) will host Abilene Christian on Friday in the Marriott Center. The Wildcats lost to top-ranked Arizona (also the Wildcats) 96-62 in Tucson on Tuesday.