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BYU's Dawson Baker (25) drives against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Robert Wright III dunks the ball against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Dawson Baker walks from the locker room before a men's college basketball game against Montana State at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Robert Wright III (1) drives against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Bruce Branch III drives against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Dawson Baker shoots a free throw against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Robert Wright III greets a young fan after a men's college basketball game against Montana State at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Brooks Bahr goes in for a layup against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Jaxon Kohler goes up for a shot against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Robert Wright III goes up for a shot against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Bruce Branch III (3) drives against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Robert Wright III (middle) is fouled on a drive against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Collin Chandler sails in for a layup against Montana State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

❮ ❯

Dawson Baker stepped to the foul line in the second half of BYU’s 86-71 victory against Montana State on Thursday. He sank his first shot then turned and walked a few steps toward midcourt, where he received a loud ovation from the 17,561 fans in attendance at the Marriott Center.

Thursday’s two points in eight minutes came about two weeks short of a year since Baker’s devastating knee injury against Miami on Nov. 27.

“It’s a crazy feeling being back out there again,” Baker said. ” It’s like riding a bike, playing basketball, and all those things. I’ve had a bunch of practice time and got a bunch of good reps in, so I felt really comfortable with everything going into the game. I think after the first free throw, it kind of hit me that it was just all happening, kind of a full circle moment, and so I was just super excited to be back.”

Baker, a 6-foot-4 guard who played three seasons at UC Irvine before joining the Cougars in 2023, has gone through multiple injuries in his career. He was a key member of the 2024-25 BYU team that made the Sweet 16, playing in all 36 games while averaging 7.6 points and shooting 38% from the 3-point line. After a long absence, Baker is in the process of working his way into Kevin Young’s rotation.

“I’m thrilled to see Dawson back out there,” Young said. “It’s a tough hand he’s been dealt, but he’s put in a lot of work to get his body right and his mind right as well. We’ve got a good team around him. Special thanks to the guys at Intermountain Health, who’ve really facilitated o many different things, not only for him but for Richie (Saunders), too.

“I was just proud to see him out there. It took him a minute to get some oxygen in his lungs and he was able to get downhill on that one, get fouled, step up and make some free throws. We’ll just be slow with him and that’s the plan to try to get him back.Because if he’s at full strength, that’s a weapon we can display.”

Baker acknowledged the ovation he received from the BYU crowd, both when he entered the game in the first half and when made his foul shots in the second.

“I’ve been here for a while and I feel like they’ve been with me this whole journey, and not just this injury but previous ones and all the ups and downs,” Baker said. “So it means a lot to me that they’ve stuck with me and been cheering me on. Today just walking around everyone was just so nice about everything and being super excited for me, which was super nice. So it meant the world to me that they treated me with such compassion.”

No. 23 BYU held a comfortable lead against Montana State for most of the night, reaching double digits at 21-11 after a Jaxon Kohler basket at the 10:10 mark of the first half. A 3-pointer by Jake Wahlin pushed the Cougars advantage to 34-17 with 4:09 to play and the lead was 43-29 at the half.

BYU shot 70% from the field for most of the second half but the Bobcats kept pace. In fact, the two teams had each scored 27 points with just under eight minutes to play and the Cougars outscoring the visitors by just one point (43-42) in the second half.

The BYU lead reached 20 several times, first on a 3-pointer from Tyler Betsey (63-43, 14 minutes remaining) and then 78-58 with five minutes left on a lob from Rob Wright III to Khadim Mboup for a dunk.

“It was a battle,” BYU freshman Bruce Branch III said. “It was a battle with ourselves and, of course, with the opponent. So we’re going to go and watch film and we’re going to get better.”

Wright led the Cougars in scoring for the fourth straight game, scoring 20 points to go along with seven assists and a career-high five steals. Branch added 17 points on 6 of 8 field goals and Kohler finished with 12 points on a perfect shooting night (5 for 5 from the field, 2 of 2 from three).

BYU was subpar from the foul line (13 of 24, 54%) and Branch, who was 3 of 7, said he was getting up first thing in the morning to get shots up.

The Cougars owned a 28-4 advantage in fast break points and outscored the Bobcats 46-24 in the paint.

“With this particular team, I think they had nine guys off their team from last year which is kind of unheard of in today’s age,” Young said. “I love the way that they play. It’s hard to guard. You make a mistake, you’re chasing the ball and they made us pay. I thought we did a decent job of settling down in the second half.

“I think Queens (Tuesday’s opponent) was all about the rim. These guys were all about the three. It took us a minute to adjust. We made some adjustments to stop helping as much and make they try to beat us more one on one. I was proud of our guys to kind of figure out how to do two different things in two different games and get the win.”

Jeremiah Davis and London Praytor scored 14 points each for Montana State (1-2) and BYU held leading returning scorer Jed Miller to just six points on 2 of 7 from the field. The Bobcats made 10 of 34 (29%) from the 3-point line.

BYU (4-0) hosts Northern Colorado next Tuesday in the Marriott Center.