Catching fire: BYU men’s basketball shoots lights out, drubs Cincinnati, 80-52
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders takes a 3-pointer against Cincinnati in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- BYU’s Egor Demin greets fans after an 80-52 Big 12 men’s basketball victory against Cincinnati in the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- The BYU student section reacts during a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Cincinnati at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- BYU’s Dawson Baker drives the baseline in a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Cincinnati at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders defends in a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Cincinnati at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- BYU’s Egor Demin takes a 3-pointer against Cincinnati in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- BYU football coach Kalani Sitake salutes the crowd at the Marriott Center while the team was being honored at halftime of a men’s basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- BYU’s Fousseyni Traore moves to the basket against Cincinnati in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders is fouled in a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Cincinnati at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2025.
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- BYU’s Richie Saunders (with ball) makes a move around a Cincinnati defender in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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- BYU’s Dallin Hall goes up for a shot in a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Cincinnati at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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- BYU’s Dawson Baker (left) makes a move into the key against Cincinnati in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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- BYU’s Fousseyni Traore (45) shoots over Cincinnati’s Aziz Bangaogo in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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- BYU’s Kanon Catchings, right, makes a move around Cincinnati’s Aziz Bandaogo in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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- BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff hands the microphone to head coach Kalani Sitake during halftime of a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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- BYU football coach Kalani Sitake addresses the crowd at halftime of a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Cincinnati at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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- BYU’s Keba Keita dunks the ball in a Big 12 men’s basketball game against Cincinnati at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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- BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young gives instructions to his team in a Big 12 game against Cincinnati at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
BYU men’s basketball coach Kevin Young and guard Richie Saunders both pointed to defensive rebounding as the catalyst for a huge second half against Cincinnati on Saturday.
OK, guys. But can we talk about the shooting?
The Cougars put up ridiculous numbers and outscored the Bearcats 52-29 in the second half of an 80-52 rout in front of 17,483 fans at the Marriott Center.
After a first half that was grinder for both teams, BYU made eight of its first 10 shots and finished with these eye-popping stats in the second: 17 of 23 from the field (74%), 11 of 15 from the 3-point line (73%) and even 7 of 9 (78%) from the charity stripe.
All this against a defense ranked in the top 10 in the country.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever coached a game where somebody went 11 for 15 from three on a team I’ve been a part of for a half,” Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said.
The shooting exhibition turned what was a competitive game into a laugher.
“The biggest difference was just the defensive rebounding,” Young said. “That’s all we talked about at halftime. They had 10 offensive boards in the first half and they only had three in the second, which allowed us to get out (in transition) and hold them to one shot. That’s how you go 52-29 in the second half.”
Egor Demin scored five straight points to end the first half, including a late 3-pointer, for a 28-23 BYU lead at the break. The offense came in an avalanche of makes in the second half as Demin dropped in another 3-pointer to open things up, then Richie Saunders banged in two more from distance. Trevin Knell added another triple and the Cougars led 45-28 at the 15:08 mark. Cincinnati never got any closer than 12 points and the lead just kept growing. After Kanon Catchings and Dawson Baker joined the 3-point barrage, BYU was 9 of 11 from beyond that arc and leading 66-44 with 6:55 to play.
Saunders, who was just 2 of 8 from the field in the first half, scored 16 of his team-leading 21 points in the second, making 5 of 7 from the 3-point line overall.
“I think the biggest thing was our defensive boards,” Saunders said. “They came out and just hit us with 10 in the first half and holding them to three in the second half was big for us. When we can get stops on the other end, it really just fuels our offense. And that was the moral of the story.”
Demin was 3 of 5 from distance and totaled 15 points, seven assist and five rebounds. Baker was 5 of 7 from the field and scored 11 points and Catchings was 3 of 4 from the arc and scored nine points.
“It’s two games in a row where we’re very capable of hitting a lot of threes,” Young said. “We’ve got a lot of shooting. I think our spacing is pretty good and we’re figuring each other out. We’re playing with a little bit more halfcourt movement and we’re making guys chase us a little more.”
The BYU football team was honored at halftime, with returning starting quarterback Jake Retzlaff and head coach Kalani Sitake hyping up fans.
“Church is tomorrow,” Sitake reminded the crowd. “We can rock the house tonight.”
Simas Lukosius was 4 of 8 from the 3-point line and led Cincinnati (12-7 overall, 2-6 Big 12) but the Bearcats were awful offensively, making just 5 of 28 (18%) from beyond the arc.
BYU (13-6, 4-4) finishes off a two-game home stand on Tuesday by hosting Baylor in the Marriott Center. The Bears moved to 5-3 in Big 12 play (13-6 overall) with a 76-61 victory at Utah on Saturday.
