Jaxson Robinson, Spencer Johnson scoring barrage leads No. 19 BYU past Fresno State

It was the kind of one-two punch BYU will need when it gets to Big 12 play in January.

The No. 19 Cougars rode a career-high 24 points off the bench from Jaxson Robinson and a smooth 22 from senior starter Spencer Johnson to beat Fresno State 85-56 on Friday in the Delta Center to climb to 7-0 on the season. 

The 46-point effort from that duo was just 10 less than the turnover-prone Bulldogs could muster.

Robinson hit four 3-pointers and another bucket (14 points) in a span of four minutes in the second half to break open a 20-point game into a runaway affair. He made 9 of 17 from the field and 6 of 8 from distance, one from 28 feet.

Johnson weaved in and through FSU’s defense in converting 9 of 12 field goals. He had 12 of his 14 points in the first ten minutes of the game.

BYU head coach Mark Pope said he was impressed how his team focused on doing little things that must be constantly refined to be winners.

“Really, what I’m most proud about is our guys are fighting right now to stay focused on the things that are making them successful,” Pope said on KSL radio’s postgame show.

“We are seven games into the season and every game and every extra day of practice, whether you win or lose, whether things are good or bad, it adds distraction. So by the end of the season you can just have this landslide of distraction, and our guys have done a nice job of experiencing a little bit of success and not being distracted but [rather] being focused on the things that make them good.”

The Robinson-Johnson show ended up stealing the thunder from an otherwise impact passing display by transfer center Aly Khalifa, who killed Fresno State’s defense with a series of pick-and-roll passes and back-cut dishes as part of his five assists.

“He sees the court at a completely different level for a man his size,” said reserve guard Richie Saunders of Khalifa on KSL radio’s postgame show.

Pope said Khalifa adds another 30 percent to his offense by how he dishes the ball to teammates because he makes all their work away from the ball worth it.

“I was saying this for a couple months and now I think people will start to believe me. He’s the best passing 7-foot player in college basketball,” Pope said.

Playing for the injured Fouss Traore, Khalifa prevented a different issue for FSU with his vision and delivery for the second straight game.

BYU forced 21 turnovers from the Bulldogs, leading to a devastating 36-7 advantage for the Cougars in points off turnovers. 

Isaiah Hill led the Bulldogs with 14 points.

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BYU’s biggest lead of 32 points came at 83-51 on a 3-point shot by Trevin Knell. After the blistering four-minute flurry by Robinson, the Cougars led 75-46 with just over five minutes left in the game.

BYU began the game making 10 of 20 from the field but then cooled to just 1 for 11 but led 36-23 before halftime on a spectacular hook pass from Khalifa from the top of the key to Robinson, who easily made a layup past the Fresno State defense.

BYU outscored Fresno State 15 to 5 in points off turnovers in the first half, with Johnson surpassing his season average by scoring in the first 10 minutes with 12 points before ending the half with 14 to lead the Cougars.

The Bulldogs, who average 10 turnovers a game, had 11 at intermission, a key to BYU’s early domination and biggest lead of 29-13 with just over eight minutes left in the first half.

BYU got 12 points off the bench from Richie Saunders, most of those on hustle plays and steals.  

BYU’s bench scored 42 points thanks to Robinson’s shooting show. Those 42 bench points surpassed BYU’s second-in-the-nation figure, and the 32-point margin of victory matched BYU’s nation-leading 32.3 average through seven games. 

BYU surpassed its season average of 21.7 assists per game, which ranks third nationally, with 23.