BYU basketball snapped its three-game losing streak in an 86-69 wire-to-wire victory against the Oklahoma State Cowboys Tuesday night at the Marriott Center.
The Cougars were in need of a "get right" game, and they turned to their veteran leaders to get back on track.
" We had a players meeting going into this game and the only thing we really talked about was like, just play for the brother to the side of you, like play for each other and nothing else matters," said guard Trevin Knell.
BYU started the game strong, with Richie Saunders scoring seven quick points to get BYU out to a 17-7 lead early. Sharpshooter Knell made his second start in a row and found a rhythm early. He led BYU with 13 first-half points, including 3 of 6 from 3.
Knell provides BYU with floor spacing that it desperately needs to open up coach Kevin Young's offense. His shooting helped BYU open up a 42-15 lead before Oklahoma State closed the first half on a 12-4 run. Knell finished the game with 18 points to lead BYU.
The Cougars' offense was clicking for almost everyone who played. Egor Demin went scoreless but had five assists and Dallin Hall scored eight points on 2 of 2 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. Since moving to the bench, Hall has looked more comfortable and in rhythm running the BYU offense. He finished the game with a season-high 14 points.
The game felt all but over at halftime, but the Cowboys were resilient and showed up for 40 minutes of basketball. OSU opened up the second half on a 21-5 run to cut the deficit to 10, at 51-47. It was a 31-9 tornado of a run over the middle eight minutes spearheaded by Cowboy guard Jamyron Keller, who scored 15 points on 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3.
" We shared the basketball. You know, I brought in some guys that really haven't played much, but they know how to play, and they can shoot, and they pass, and they play unselfishly," said Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz.
BYU took the punch, and its backcourt swung right back. Hall knocked down back-to-back 3s to give BYU some breathing room, and then Demin woke up. After missing a pair of free throws, Demin was searching for any positive momentum to get the lid off the basket. On the next possession, he drove hard to the rim, sought the contact, and finished for the 3-point play. A few plays later, Demin got into the passing lane and scored a fastbreak layup on the other end.
Now in rhythm, Demin pulled up from 3 off a Keba Keita screen and drained it, sending the Marriott Center into euphoria. From there, BYU cruised to a win, with Demin putting up his best game in Big 12 play. He finished the game with 10 points and eight assists.
" I was happy with his response. I thought he played with the chip on his shoulder, which I like to see," said Young. "But again, I think he's played a good offensive game the last three games. You know, he wasn't able to kind of have the box score that would necessarily say that. But when you watch the tape, outside of his turnovers, I think he's played well. So I think he's figuring things out."
BYU and Demin weathered the Oklahoma State twister of a run and snapped its three-game losing streak.
" I was proud of our guy's response, not only to that moment that I was just talking about in the second half, but just more importantly, just kind of where we're at in our season," said Young. "You know, after having some tough losses that really stung, I was happy with our guy's collective response."
Next up on the docket for BYU is a rivalry matchup Saturday against Utah night at the Huntsman Center.