BYU’s defensive game plan against Queens on Tuesday was to keep the Royals out of the paint, where they’ve scored about 50 points per game.

That strategy worked — Queens only scored 24 points in the paint — but the Royals made 14 3-pointers to keep the game from getting out of hand. Still, the 23rd-ranked Cougars made 17 triples and had five players in double figures, eventually handling their business with a 98-82 victory at the Marriott Center.

“Well, No. 1, Queens is good and they’re well coached,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. “They’ve got some guys off of a tournament team, so they play a unique style. I think all of those factors combined made it an interesting game.

“They made 14 threes, and we didn’t adjust well enough to their off-ball screening action. But I thought our guys did a better job as the game wore on with our one-on-one stuff, and that’s all we really talked about coming into the game.”

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

BYU had plenty of offense to take this one home. Rob Wright III led the Cougars in scoring for the third straight game, tossing in 21 points and adding four rebounds and six assists. Jaxon Kohler put up 15 points (on 3 of 3 from the 3-point line) and eight rebounds and Bruce Branch III posted 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Nate Pickens had 15 points and Collin Chandler added 12.

“We have so many talented shooters,” Wright said. “I mean, it’s like anytime you make it one more (pass), you just know the ball’s probably going in. So we just try and trust each other and keep building that trust, and we know the shots gonna keep falling.”

Queens leading scorers, Jordan Watford and Nasir Mann, combined for just 15 points (14 from Mann) and 14 assists as teammates stepped up. Rickey Ballard and Caleb Jones scored 18 points each for the Royals and Avantae Parker added 16.

One of the more spectacular plays for BYU in the first half was on Queens’ first possession. Chandler blocked a shot and pushed the ball ahead to Bruce Branch III, who took it in for a dunk.

BYU connected on 12 of 20 3-pointers (60%) in the first half and looked to threaten the program record of 19 set against Westminster in 2022. Eight different BYU players made at least one triple, led by Pickens 3-for-4 effort.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

The Cougars led by 22, 52-30, on a Pickens 3-pointer with 3:22 to play in the first half. But Queens went on a 12-2 run to end the first half and trailed by 12, 54-42, at the half.

BYU opened the second half 1 for 7 from the field and Queens knocked in a pair of threes to close to six, 54-48. A 13-0 Cougar run, with 3-point plays from Branch and Pickens and a 3-pointer from Jake Wahlin, pushed the lead to 19 (72-53) with 12:15 to play. BYU managed to stay comfortably ahead, though the Royals made 9 of 18 (50%) from beyond the arc in the second half.

Queens has been on a long road trip, starting with a 96-95 upset of LMU in Los Angeles. The Royals got drilled at Oklahoma State on Nov. 6 (116-68) but played much better at the Marriott Center on Tuesday.

“You want to get tested,” Young said. “You don’t want to come out and just win those games by 40 or 50 points. If you play a good team and you win by that, great. But it’s hard to do against a team of that caliber. That’s a team that will be in contention to win their league, and be in contention to make the tournament. So I hope that maybe that makes that win age well. But more than anything, it was good for our guys to play against grown men who are good basketball players and test us in ways that, in some respects, haven’t been tested like that in certain instances.”

BYU (3-0) returns to the Marriott Center on Thursday for a matchup with Big Sky opponent Montana State.

Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo

BYU's Bruce Branch III drives against Queens University in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.

BYU's Collin Chandler drives against Queens University in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.

BYU's Collin Chandler drives against Queens University in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.

BYU's Bruce Branch III drives against Queens University in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.

BYU's Jaxon Kohler takes a shot against Queens University in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026.