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BYU's Dallin Hall (right), Richie Saunders (center) and Fousseyni Traore celebrate a basket in a Big 12 men's basketball game against West Virginia at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Fousseyni Traore (45) makes a move against West Virginia's Amari Hansberry in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Richie Saunders drives to the basket against West Virginia in a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU head coach Kevin Young (grey shirt) talks to his players in a time out during a Big 12 men's basketball game in the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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The BYU-West Virginia meeting on Saturday was two types of games in one.

The second type of game was the right one for the Cougars.

For most of the first half, the Mountaineers had BYU right where they wanted them: In a physical, slow-paced defensive struggle. It appeared the game would be a close one, with the final score somewhere in the 50s.

In the final three minutes of the first half, the Cougars changed all of that.

BYU finished the first half on a 10-0 run and dominated the second, leading by as many as 30 points before settling for a 77-56 victory in front of another sellout crowd (17,978) at the Marriott Center.

It was BYU’s sixth straight win.

“I felt like for the first 10 minutes of the game, it was more than how they were guarding us,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “We just had a hard time getting in rhythm. We were just in mud.”

BYU was 6 of 19 from the field (31.5%) and trailed 19-15 with just over three minutes to play in the first half. Over the next 20 minutes of game time, the Cougars shot 21 of 30 (70%), outscored the Mountaineers 58-24 and led 73-43 with 3:20 to play.

It was quite a turnaround.

“Coming out of halftime, we just said, ‘Hey, get to the rim,'” Young said. “They’re going to take away the 3-point line and they don’t have a ton of shot blocking. Just get to the rim, and we had a determined group that did that, and that was the difference in the game.

“The way Egor (Demin) and Richie (Saunders) came out to start the second half, I thought it was a really mature response and just smart, honestly. They’re going to guard us like this, so this is going to be open, so to the tune of 52 points (in the second half).”

West Virginia obviously saw the game film of BYU making 17 3-pointers at Arizona State on Wednesday and stuck to the Cougar shooters on the perimeter. That gave Fousseyni Traore one-on-one opportunities in the post, and the senior forward bulled his way for 20 points (9 of 13 from the field) and 10 rebounds.

“I think we’ve learned a lot throughout the course of this season, and from our time in the Big 12 last year, ” Cougar guard Dallin Hall said. “When we’d have off shooting nights, or teams would really try to take the three away, we would struggle a little bit. I think this year we’re a lot more dynamic. We have a lot of options. And so Coach, especially at halftime, emphasized for us to get to the rim, and if things break down, get Fous the ball and get out of the way. And so I think it is a pick your poison kind of thing against us.”

Demin — Young said Demin was “ornery and pissed off” — scored 15 points (14 in the second half) to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Saunders finished with 13 points and Hall contributed eight points, four rebounds and six assists.

The Cougars, who didn’t have a single 3-pointer in the first half (0-4) were 5 of 11 from distance in the second.

With Traore dominating inside, BYU topped West Virginia 46-22 in points in the paint.

Javon Small led the Mountaineers (17-12 overall, 8-10 Big 12) with 15 points but was just 5 of 14 from the field. West Virginia was pretty much off target for most of the night, shooting 33% from the field (21 of 63) and 29.6% from the 3-point line (8 of 27).

The Cougars had scored 40 or more points in nine straight halves the past five games but struggled to find an offensive groove against West Virginia in the first half.  BYU went six minutes without scoring and nearly seven minutes without a field goal during one particularly brutal stretch. The Mountaineers scored six consecutive points, with a steal and layup from Sencire Harris pushing the visitors out in front, 14-13. Another basket by Harris set WVU up 19-15 with three minutes left in the half.

The Cougars put together a modest stretch of offense to go on a 10-0 run to end the half, getting four points each from Saunders and Traore. Hall penetrated the key and fed Traore for a layup to beat the buzzer and BYU took a 25-19 lead into the break.

Riding that momentum, the Cougars scored the first eight points of the second half. Denim made BYU’s first 3-pointer, then Saunders got downhill for a layup and converted a 3-point play in transition moments later. That made it 18 straight points as BYU took a 33-19 lead with 18:14 to play. Denim scored five points, including a 3-point play, and Traore helped the Cougars extend the lead with five consecutive baskets for a 50-31 Cougar advantage. The lead kept growing and Hall’s second 3-pointer of the half put BYU up 73-43.

Freshman Kanon Catchings came down awkwardly while attempting to block a shot early in the second half and had to be helped to the locker room by training staff. Catching later returned to the bench with his left knee wrapped in ice. Young said Catchings would have his knee looked at by doctors but was encouraged the news would be favorable.

The Cougars (21-8, 12-6) have a big road trip ahead with a Tuesday date at No. 9 Iowa State. The Cyclones beat up No. 22 Arizona 84-67 in Ames on Saturday.