3 takeaways from BYU’s strong win over UC Riverside

After more than a month away, BYU returned to the Marriott Center Saturday night for a thunderous victory.

The Cougars cruised past UC Riverside in 100-53 fashion, moving to 9-1 on the season and giving head coach Kevin Young his 35th win with the program.

3 takeaways

AJ Dybantsa dominated — yet again. After a career night against Clemson at Madison Square Garden, BYU’s freshman phenom brought his recent fire back into the Marriott Center.

Dybantsa scored a game-high 26 points and set new personal bests with eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Sixteen of his 26 points came after halftime, as he shot 7 of 10 from the floor in the second half and 11 of 17 for the game.

“It was ridiculous what he just did out there,” Young said of Dybantsa. “I mean, he had 26 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, one block, and probably could have had 50 (points), truly. He’s a special player. That was incredible what he was doing out there. I’m just incredibly impressed with what he did tonight and what he’s done all season. The kid’s good, man, and then everyone feeds off him.

“... We’re gonna win a lot of games because of how good he is, but you know, it’s more about he’s good because he’s talented, but he’s a team guy. They’re hard to find, man. They’re really hard to find."

BYU’s offense was the best it’s been all season. The Cougars crossed the century mark in points for the first time in the current campaign, scoring 49 points in the first half and 51 in the second for a rather balanced outing.

BYU shot 59.1% from the field and 47.4% from 3-point range. If there was any bone to pick with the Cougars it would be their 13 of 26 finish from the charity stripe, but if there was ever a game to miss 13 free throws with no sweat, it would be against a UC Riverside.

BYU also averaged a blistering 1.389 points per possession, scored 54 points in the paint and 29 in transition while stacking up 22 assists against 10 turnovers.

Aside from Dybantsa’s 26 points, Richie Saunders scored 19, Rob Wright III added nine with six assists and the Cougar bench shined for 36 collective points, including a double-double from Khadim Mboup.

Aleksej Kostić made a great impression. After Dawson Baker’s season-ending knee injury, it’s no secret that BYU needs more production from its bench moving forward.

Kostić answered the call on Saturday.

The Cougars’ newcomer from Austria finished as the third-leading scorer against UC Riverside, posting 15 points on five made 3-pointers — including three in a row a 100-second stretch in the first half.

Additionally, Kostić dished out four assists and finished with a plus/minus of +36 in 22 minutes on the floor, earning chants of his name from the ROC student section by the end of the contest.

Should Kostić continue to produce, the importance of his role as another ball-handler and scoring option from BYU’s second unit cannot be overstated.

1 of 32

2 of 32

3 of 32

4 of 32

5 of 32

6 of 32

7 of 32

8 of 32

9 of 32

10 of 32

11 of 32

12 of 32

13 of 32

14 of 32

15 of 32

16 of 32

17 of 32

18 of 32

19 of 32

20 of 32

21 of 32

22 of 32

23 of 32

24 of 32

25 of 32

26 of 32

27 of 32

28 of 32

29 of 32

30 of 32

31 of 32

32 of 32