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BYU survives Oklahoma State comeback, ends three-game losing streak

By Darnell Dickson - | Jan 14, 2025
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BYU's Trevin Knell (21) takes a 3-pointer in a Big 12 men's basketball game against Oklahoma State at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
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BYU's Dallin Hall (30) dribbles the ball against Oklahoma State in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
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BYU's Keiba Keta dunks against Oklahoma State in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
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BYU's Richie Saunders (15) drives against Oklahoma State's Brandon Newman in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
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BYU's Mawot Mag (0) goes up for a shot against Oklahoma State's Abou Ousmane in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
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BYU's Egor Demin drives in for a shot against Oklahoma State in a Big 12 men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.

BYU’s complete, 40-minute effort is still out there somewhere.

The Cougars put together a terrific 20 minutes against Oklahoma State on Tuesday, leading by as many as 27 points in the first half. Up 20 at break, BYU fans watched nervously as the Cowboys suddenly got hot to begin the second half and cut the deficit to just three, 51-48, with 13:22 to play.

The Cougars managed hold onto the lead and surge ahead behind some big shots from Dallin Hall and Egor Demin and halted their three-game losing streak with an 85-69 victory at the Marriott Center.

“Obviously, it was a tale of two halves,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. I thought our defense was tremendous in the first half, which allowed us to get out and run, kind of play a free-flowing game, which I think is our strength. I loved our pace. And then the skids hit pretty good for a bit there to start the second half, which you don’t like to see. They got hot from three, so we had to make some adjustments there. But more anything I was proud of our guys response, not only to that moment that I was just talking about in the second half, but just more importantly, where we’re at in our season. After having some tough losses, I was happy with our guys collective response.”

Trevin Knell led five players in double figures for BYU with 18 points, 4 of 9 from the 3-point line. Dallin Hall scored 14 off the bench and was perfect from the field (4 of 4, including 3 of 3 from the arc). Richie Saunders added 12 points and freshman Egor Demin put up 10 points, five rebounds and eight assists and Keba Keita contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.

Young said his team kept it together even when the Cowboys made their run.

I thought our composure was good,” he said. “I think this has been the story of our entire season. But I just thought we got the right lineup combinations out there and that really helped. That’s something that we’re continuing to evaluate and try to get right, just having the right groups out there for the entire game.”

Oklahoma State (9-7 overall, 1-4 Big 12), which shot better than 60% from the field in the second half, got 15 points apiece from Bryce Thompson and Jamryn Keller.

OSU coach Steve Lutz said he’s ready to take his team back to Oklahoma after a tough road trip in the Beehive State, where the Cowboys suffered double-digit loss to both Utah and BYU.

“No offense, guys, but I’m ready to get the hell out of here,” Lutz said. “I mean, Utah is a beautiful place, but I’ve had enough. I don’t mean that disrespectfully, people have been wonderful to us, but we’ve got sick guys and we were seven or eight hours late getting here (to Salt Lake). It’s been a mess the entire time. And then, obviously we did not perform Saturday (at Utah) and we did not perform in the first half tonight, either. I feel better about our second half and hopefully we can build on that moving forward.”

It wasn’t long before BYU took control and led by double digits, 17-6, just seven minutes into the game. The Cougars were 5 of 5 during a 13-3 run, including 3-pointers from Saunders and Knell. BYU continued its torrid shooting pace for the entire first half, finishing at 60% (15 of 25) from the field.

Oklahoma State, ranked near the bottom of every offensive category in Big 12 play, was dreadful in the first half and at one point was 4 of 24 (17%) shooting the ball.

BYU held the Cowboys without a field goal for five-and-a-half minutes and erupted on an 18-0 run in moving a 24-15 lead to a 42-15 advantage (27 points) with 3:23 to play in the first half. OSU put together a 9-0 burst to close to 42-24 but the Cougars held a 46-26 lead at the half after a pair of Keta dunks.

Knell was 3 of 6 from the 3-point line and led BYU in the first half with 13 points. Hall had eight points off the bench and Demin didn’t score but contributed five assists.

The Cougars let down to start the second half as OSU’s Keller heated up, making a trio of long-distance 3-pointers as the visitors cut the deficit to just ten points, 51-41, at the 15:34 mark. The Cowboys kept coming and what was once a 27-point lead (and 20 points at halftime) was just three, 51-48, with 13:22 to play.

Hall came up big a hit a 3-pointer on a feed from Demin, then Traore blocked an OSU shot and converted an offensive rebound on the other end for a 56-48 lead. Hall dropped in another triple and the Cougars led 59-50 with 11:30 remaining.

Demin scored eight quick points with a 3-point play, a steal and a runout and his first meaningful 3-pointer since November for a 71-57 advantage with 8:06 to go. A nice draw and dish from Hall to Saunders to 3 pushed the Cougars out to a 76-60 lead at the 5:47 mark.

“It was definitely a team win,” Demin said. “We’ve got each other’s backs all the time on defense and on offense. We were playing as a team as a whole. That’s not that complicated but at the same time, it’s pretty hard.”

Young went with a new starting lineup that included Demin, Saunders, Keita, Knell and Mawot Mag.

The Cougars (11-5, 2-3) travel to Salt Lake City on Saturday to renew its rivalry with the University of Utah, with a 7 p.m. MT tip at the Huntsman Center. The Utes play at TCU in Forth Worth on Wednesday.