Stellar finish: Huge second half helps No. 9 BYU hold off Dayton
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- BYU players and staff react during the trophy presentation after their win over Dayton in an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla.
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- BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) is defended by Dayton guard Javon Bennett, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla.
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- BYU guard Richie Saunders (15) goes up to shoot during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Dayton, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla.
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- BYU guard Robert Wright III, left, goes up to shoot in front of Dayton forward Keonte Jones (7) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla.
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- BYU guard Richie Saunders (15) raises a framed jersey after being named the tournament MVP after his team’s win over Dayton in an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla.
The second-half Cougars have struck again.
After a disjointed and disappointing first half, No. 9 BYU exploded out of the gate in the second with a 22-2 run to take a 13-point lead against Dayton in the championship game of the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational.
But the work wasn’t finished.
The Flyers rallied to tie the game with 3:15 remaining but Richie Saunders took the Cougars home to an 83-79 victory in front of a crowd of 4,135 at ESPN’s State Farm Fieldhouse in Kissimmee, Fla., just 20 minutes from Disneyworld.
Mickey Mouse ears all-around for everyone wearing blue.
“We hung 53 points on that team (in the second half) and that’s a really hard team to play,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. “I told Coach (Anthony) Grant that after the game. They mix up their defenses. They’re aggressive and so a hard team to play against. But I did think our guys adjusted. I told them in a locker room, we’ve got to find some of that juice before halftime. It’s good lesson for our guys.”
In its previous four games, BYU had outscored its opponents by an average of more than 15 points in the second half.
Saunders — who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player — was terrific against Dayton in the second half, scoring 21 of his game-high 29 points, just one off his career best.
“I think Richie’s doing a better job of spacing the floor, finding windows to get some of these kick outs, letting the game come to him,” Young said. “I thought early in the season he was rushing shots. I think he’s in a little bit calmer place. The scoring is going to speak loudly for him. But this guy is battling bigger guys almost every night. He led us in defensive rebounds (six). I think that speaks to his his will that I’ve talked about.”
Rob Wright III carried the offense in the first half and scored 23 points to go with six assists. AJ Dybantsa knocked down 13 of his 18 in the second half and made some clutch shots as BYU held on down the stretch.
After a poor offensive performance in the first half the Cougars shot 66% from the field (21 of 32) and 64% from the 3-point line (7 of 11) in the second.
BYU led by as many as 13 points in the second half but the game was tied at 70 with 3:15 to go. Saunders banged in a 3-pointer plus the foul for a 74-70 BYU advantage but Dayton made it a one-point game, 74-73, on a 3-pointer from big man Amael L’etang with 2:11 to play.
Saunders came back with another triple and Dybantsa hit a jumper in the lane for a 79-73 lead with 1:08 remaining. Dayton played with reckless abandon defensively in the final minute of the game and thing got a bit dicey but Saunders put the win in the fridge with two clutch free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining.
“You have to go through hard stuff,” Saunders said. “Coach kind of touched on that after the game. But honestly, we’re still new as a group and we’re learning so much about each other. The only way you can learn about each other is by going through stuff together and having experience.”
BYU trailed 36-30 at halftime mainly due to the shooting of Javon Bennett. The 5-10 Dayton guard made five of his first six 3-point shots. Bennett scored 17 first-half points and the Flyers led from the tip, going up by ten points with under five minutes to go.
The Cougars also struggled offensively with ten turnovers and poor shooting (8 of 24, 33%).
BYU erupted on a 22-2 run to open the second half. Keba Keita tipped in his own miss to tie the game at 39. That play was followed by a steal by Saunders, who fed Dybantsa for a 3-pointer and the Cougars first lead in the game at 42-39 with 16:36 to play. Keita made it 15-0 run with a steal and a 3-point play for a 45-39 advantage. The lead reached 13, 56-43, on back-to-back drives from Wright with 12:47 left.
Dayton rallied and tied the score at 67 on a Bryce Heard 3-pointer just before the under-four time out, setting up the final sequence.
Bennett led Dayton (6-2) with 22 points, making 6 of 11 from beyond the arc. He came into the game shooting 26% (12 of 46) from the 3-point line. The Flyers, who came in averaging 7.4 3-pointers per game and making just 32% of them, finished 15 of 33 (45%) from distance.
“They (Dayton) look it to us to start the game and I thought we were on our heels a little bit,” Young said.. “I thought Rob’s decision making in the second half was much better. Along with AJ, I thought there was a couple plays right out of the gate. We wanted to play fast, but I thought they sped us up. We changed our defensive coverages and I think that really kind of put them in mud a little bit, and that’s how we were able to get that spread and then just kind of withstand the run at the end.”
BYU (6-1) will host Cal Baptist in the Delta Center on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. MT tip.
