Big rally falls short as No. 3 UConn holds off No. 7 BYU, 86-84
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- BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) drives toward the basket as UConn forward Jayden Ross (23) defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Boston.
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- BYU guard Richie Saunders tries to drive past UConn guard Malachi Smith (0) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
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- BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) celebrates after scoring in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against UConn, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Boston.
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- BYU head coach Kevin Young shouts from the bench in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against the UConn Huskies, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Boston.
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- BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) looks for an opening as UConn center Eric Reibe, left, defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Boston.
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- UConn center Eric Reibe and BYU guard Richie Saunders grapple for control of the ball in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Boston.
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- BYU forward Mihailo Boskovic, center front , vies for the ball with UConn center Eric Reibe, left, as BYU guard Richie Saunders, right, reacts in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Boston.
Down two starters midway through the first half against No. 3 UConn on Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden, the No. 7 BYU men’s basketball team predictably fell behind big.
But the Cougars didn’t stay down.
Trailing by as many as 20 points, BYU made a remarkable comeback against the Huskies, supercharged by a huge second half from freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa. With 20 seconds left, a 3-pointer by Dawson Baker cut the UConn lead to two and the Cougars had a chance to tie down three moments later. But a costly turnover robbed the BYU of a big finish and the Huskies held on for an 86-84 win.
“We had a lot of things working against us in this game for various reasons,” Cougar head coach Kevin Young said in his post-game radio appearance. “Guys stepped up after digging ourselves into a hole. We haven’t had a lot of adversity to this point so it was good to see our guys respond. It was a great atmosphere against a really good team. There are definitely some things we can learn from it we can use to navigate not just the regular season but the post season.”
Starting swingman Kennard Davis Jr., who was charged with a DUI on Thursday in Provo, made the trip but did not suit up for the game. Starting center Keba Keita played just eight minutes before taking a shoulder to the head from a Huskies player and wobbled off the court with concussion symptoms, never to return.
Dybantsa — playing in front of friends and family from Brockton, Mass., where he grew up — struggled against UConn’s physical defense in the first half and scored just four points on 1 of 6 from the field. He poured in 21 points in the second half, going 7 of 8 from the field and playing through contact in an impressive offensive display. Dybantsa’s final line (25 points, 8 of 14 from the field, 2 of 3 from three, 7 of 10 from the free throw line, six rebounds) certainly caught the eyes of dozen of NBA scouts in the building.
Color UConn head coach Danny Hurley impressed.
“The amount of times we put him at the line, that allowed AJ to get a rhythm going and then that’s as high a level of shot making you’re going to see in college basketball,” Hurley said. “He hasn’t been making threes to start the year, he’s been a rim guy. But he had the whole bag going tonight.”
Richie Saunders scored 16 points but was 0-for-7 from the 3-point line. Robert Wright III contributed 16 points and four assists but also had six of BYU’s 14 turnovers. Baker added 12 points and made 3 of 4 from the 3-point line.
“We hung 52 points in the second half on a really good defensive team,” Young said. “I thought the first half, they got us sped up. Individually we were impatient, as a team we were impatient. We had either zero pass or one pass shots, I thought we didn’t go off two feet in the paint well enough. AJ was clinical in the second half, getting to his spot. When he does that he’s one of the best players in the country. It was a chance for our guys to put themselves in position to win the game, which they did.”
Three UConn players — Alex Karaban, Tarris Reed Jr. And Silar Demary Jr. — scored 21 points each.
“I thought we looked like an awesome team for 25 minutes,” Hurley said. “The last 15 minutes we kind of hung on and weren’t very good against pressure and we lost some integrity on the ball. The foul trouble obviously hurt. But credit BYU, those guys, they showed some real fight today. They could have walked out of here and lost by 20 easily, but those guys dug their heels in and showed that. They have a great coach and a real culture and a real chance to compete for a championship.”
Most of the statistics were even, though the Huskies shot 57% from the field to BYU’s 49% and 44% from the 3-point line (8 of 18) to BYU’s 31% (8 of 26). UConn also dished out 21 assists to the Cougars’ seven.
A 14-2 run pushed UConn out to a 29-14 lead with 8:14 to play in the first half. A late 3-pointer by Tyler Mrus put the deficit at 11, 43-32, at halftime.
Things got worse to start the second half, with the Huskies getting to a 20-point lead, 59-39, on a layup from Silas Demary Jr. with 14:55 remaining. BYU’s defense started the comeback, UConn began missing shots and Dybantsa started cooking. He scored seven straight points, five at the foul line. Richie Saunders scored on back-to-back drives and Dybantsa knocked down a shot, and suddenly the Cougars were within five, 73-68, with 4:56 to play.
Another Dybantsa score cut the deficit to 75-70 and a turnover gave BYU a chance to get even closer. But Saunders missed a good look at a 3-pointer and the Huskies pushed their lead back to nine with 3:13 left.
The Cougars weren’t done and Baker’s late three gave them a chance. But the turnover — Wright dribbled the ball off his leg while trying to penetrate into the key — was critical. Solo Ball made 1 of 2 free throws and Mihailo Boskovic scored at the buzzer for the final two-point margin.
“It was a fun game and a crazy atmosphere,” Baker said. “We learned a lot this game is what I can say. We made a push down the stretch, We had to figure out some things we were doing. We were missing some guys and that kind of hurts. But I’m proud of the way we responded in a lot of ways. We made it a really interesting game. We’re on the road to being really, really good.”
BYU (3-1) has another marquee game coming up Friday, this one against No. 24 Wisconsin at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Those same two teams matched up in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, with the Cougars holding on for a 91-89 victory in Denver.
