No. 10 BYU wins 7th straight with blowout of Pacific

Richie Saunders scored a game-high 24 points to lead BYU to a 93-57 win over Pacific on Tuesday in Provo, Utah.

AJ Dybantsa had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Robert Wright III added 22 points and Tyler Mrus chipped in 15 points on 4-of-4 3-point shooting for BYU (10-1), which has won seven straight games.

Kajus Kublickas led Pacific (8-4) with 14 points and Elias Ralph tallied 12 points, all of which he scored after halftime.

The Cougars leaned on their full-court press throughout the game. BYU held a 25-9 edge in points off turnovers, with both Wright and Saunders racking up five steals as the team forced 18 turnovers.

Both teams struggled in the early going. The Tigers didn't get on the board until a Justin Rochelin second-chance layup at the 14:10 mark made the score 6-2.

The Cougars took full control with a 12-0 run which gave BYU a 28-10 lead with 4:54 left in the half. Mrus scored the first six points on consecutive 3-pointers, and Saunders finished the run with the final four points.

BYU outscored the Tigers 25-10 over the final 8:52 of the first half to take a 41-20 halftime lead. Dybantsa led the way with 14 first-half points.

While Pacific struggled to score in the first half, it found its stroke from behind the arc coming out of the locker room. Pacific went on an 18-6 run to begin the second half, cutting the BYU lead to 47-38 with 14:29 remaining.

The Cougars put the game away shortly thereafter with an 18-0 run to take a 67-40 lead with 9:10 to play. Pacific was held scoreless for nearly five minutes during this onslaught.

Wright and Saunders led this second-half stifling, scoring 16 and 13 points, respectively, after halftime. Saunders was 7-of-7 at the free-throw line in the second half and 11-of-12 for the game.

The Tigers shot 39.1% from the floor and 28% from 3-point range, turning it over 18 times.

-Field Level Media