Provo, UT – West Virginia was 32.3% from the field while the 25th-ranked BYU Cougars (21-8, 12-6) caught fire in the second half, shooting 60.6% from the floor to take down the Mountaineers (17-12, 8-10) Saturday night 77-56.
West Virginia and BYU scored on their first possessions of the game, then went a combined 0-9 from the field before forward Richie Saunders drove the lane for the lay-in to start an 8-2 run with Fousseyni Traore working the paint to give the Cougars a 10-4 lead at the 13:17 mark of the first half.
BYU held a 13-8 lead until sophomore forward Amani Hansberry hit a straightaway three, sophomore Sencire Harris got the steal and the bucket, and senior guard Javon Small buried a three as part of a 9-0 run for 17-13 advantage with 4:51 remaining in the half. However, BYU the Cougars ended the half on a 12-2 run to take a 25-19 lead into halftime.
The Cougars stretched its run from the first half to 19-2 to open the second half, starting with a three from freshman guard Egor Demin and capped with a bucket and a foul from Saunders for a 33-19 advantage at the 18:12 mark.
West Virginia freshman Jonathan Powell buried a three to cut the BYU lead to 11 but the Cougars was on a roll and extended their lead to twenty, 53-33, at the midway point of the second half led by Traore’s 10 points, matching the senior’s first half total. He finished with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Egor Demin recorded his 14th second half point from the free throw line, finishing the game with 15 points, to expand the lead to 27 with four minutes remaining in the game as the Cougars coasted to a 77-56 victory.
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