AJ Dybantsa scores 26 as BYU blows out UC Riverside

AJ Dybantsa scored 26 points, dished out seven assists, and collected eight rebounds to lead No. 10 BYU to a 100-53 victory over UC Riverside in Provo, Utah on Saturday night.Richie Saunders add

AJ Dybantsa scores 26 as BYU blows out UC Riverside

AJ Dybantsa scored 26 points, dished out seven assists, and collected eight rebounds to lead No. 10 BYU to a 100-53 victory over UC Riverside in Provo, Utah on Saturday night.

Richie Saunders added 19 points to help the Cougars (9-1) win their sixth straight game. Alexsej Kostic made five 3-pointers for a career-high 15 points and Khadim Mboup added career highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Keba Keita chipped in a game-high 11 rebounds.

BYU shot 59% from the floor and scored 20 points off of 18 turnovers. The Cougars outscored UC Riverside 54-26 in the paint and 29-6 on fastbreak points.

Andrew Henderson led UC Riverside (5-6) with 14 points and BJ Kolly added 12.

Saunders struggled to get going offensively in a 67-64 victory over Clemson on Tuesday after scoring five points on two made baskets. He had no such troubles against UC Riverside.

The senior guard scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting before halftime. He made four baskets in the first four minutes to help BYU jump out to a 15-5 lead.

Aleksej Kostic complemented Saunders with crisp outside shooting. Kostic had totaled just 13 points on four baskets over his first six games with BYU before making three 3-pointers and scoring nine points in the first half. He gave the Cougars an unexpected spark off the bench.

The last of Kostic’s three outside baskets ignited an 8-0 run that extended BYU’s lead to 37-18 before halftime.

BYU shot 60% from the field — including 6-of-9 from 3-point range — in the first half. The Cougars also forced 11 turnovers.

UC Riverside drew as close as five after Henderson’s first 3-pointer cut the deficit to 15-10 but never seriously threatened to erase BYU’s lead at any point.

Dybantsa slammed the door shut by helping to fuel a 30-5 run that put BYU up 83-42 with 9:07 left. He scored five baskets and assisted four others during the run and Khadim Mboup punctuated it with back-to-back layups.