BYU center Fousseyni Traore (45) shoots the ball over Idaho Vandals forward Kyson Rose (34) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. Isaac Hale, Deseret News
Jackson Payne
By Jackson Payne
Jackson has been writing about sports for the Deseret News since 2023.

A strong second half pushed BYU basketball past Idaho Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center in Provo, moving Kevin Young’s Cougars to 4-0 on the young season.

3 takeaways

Fousseyni Traore and Richie Saunders were fantastic. The pair of former high school teammates each posted career highs in scoring with 29 and 26 points, respectively. Traore grabbed nine rebounds, while Saunders swiped four steals and recorded three blocks.

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BYU center Fousseyni Traore (45) shoots the ball over Idaho Vandals forward Kyson Rose (34) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU guard Elijah Crawford (2) drives the ball while guarded by Idaho Vandals guard Jojo Anderson (3) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU forward Richie Saunders (15) drives the ball toward the basket while guarded by Idaho Vandals guard Miles Klapper (24) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU center Fousseyni Traore (45) looks to shoot the ball while guarded by Idaho Vandals forward Julius Mims (0) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU guard Egor Demin (3) celebrates his three-pointer against the Idaho Vandals during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU forward Richie Saunders (15) drives the ball while guarded by Idaho Vandals guard Kolton Mitchell (14) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU forward Kanon Catchings (6) dunks the ball against the Idaho Vandals during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU center Fousseyni Traore (45) drives the ball during an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Idaho Vandals held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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The BYU bench celebrates an and-one opportunity against the Idaho Vandals during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU head coach Kevin Young calls out to his players during an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Idaho Vandals held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU forward Mihailo Boskovic (5) and Idaho Vandals forward Julius Mims (0) compete for a rebound during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU forward Richie Saunders (15) shoots the ball during an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Idaho Vandals held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU center Fousseyni Traore (45) high-fives team manager Samson Osime after BYU defeated the Idaho Vandals in an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU center Keba Keita (13) is helped off the court after being roughed up on a play against the Idaho Vandals during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU center Keba Keita (13) reacts after being roughed up on a play against the Idaho Vandals during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU guard Egor Demin (3) drives the ball past Idaho Vandals forward Tyler Mrus (2) with the help of a screen from BYU center Keba Keita (13) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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A referee holds a whistle in his mouth during an NCAA men’s basketball game between BYU and the Idaho Vandals held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU guard Dawson Baker (25) pokes the ball loose from Idaho Vandals guard Miles Klapper (24) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU guard Dawson Baker (25) looks to drive the ball while guarded by Idaho Vandals guard Jojo Anderson (3) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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Idaho Vandals head coach Alex Pribble calls out to his players during an NCAA men’s basketball game against BYU held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU forward Kanon Catchings (6) shoots the ball while guarded by Idaho Vandals guard Jack Payne (7) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU center Keba Keita (13) shoots a foul shot during an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Idaho Vandals held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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Idaho Vandals forward Tyler Mrus (2) passes the ball while guarded by BYU guard Egor Demin (3) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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Idaho Vandals guard Kolton Mitchell (14) drives the ball while guarded by BYU center Keba Keita (13) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU head coach Kevin Young calls out to his players during an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Idaho Vandals held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU guard Egor Demin (3) controls the ball while guarded by Idaho Vandals guard Miles Klapper (24) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU forward Richie Saunders (15) dunks the ball against the Idaho Vandals during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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Idaho Vandals forward Julius Mims (0) shoots a foul shot while the BYU student section tries to distract him during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU forward Mawot Mag (0) talks with his teammates during an NCAA men’s basketball game against the Idaho Vandals held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
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BYU guard Dawson Baker (25) lays the ball up while guarded by Idaho Vandals guard Jojo Anderson (3) during an NCAA men’s basketball game held at the Marriott Center on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

BYU’s defense needs to improve. The Cougars kept getting cooked from the perimeter, allowing Idaho to shoot 57.1% from behind the arc as well as 50% from the field. Additionally, BYU struggled at times with the Vandals’ physicality, only winning the rebounding battle by a 33-28 margin.

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Comments

The Cougars were a bit too streaky on offense. BYU had a few bursts of elite offensive play — going on separate scoring runs of 11-1, 14-3 and 13-2 in the contest — but when removing those three stretches, the Cougars were outscored 65-57. The continued thorn of free throws definitely factored into the inconsistency, as BYU missed another 11 shots from the charity stripe against Idaho.

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