KANSAS CITY, Missouri –
AJ Dybantsa delivered a historic performance Tuesday night.
The Big 12 freshman of the year scored a freshman tournament-record 40 points to lead No. 10 seed BYU to a 105-91 victory over No. 15 seed Kansas State in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center.
Dybantsa shot 15-of-21 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line while adding nine rebounds, six assists and three steals as the Cougars advanced to the second round.
The 40-point outing broke the previous Big 12 tournament record of 37 points set by freshman Kevin Durant in 2007.
“Out of all people, that’s special,” Dybantsa said. “I just thank my teammates. I was hitting some shots, hitting some threes. I just wanted to stay aggressive. We’re trying to go far in this tournament.”
BYU (22-10) also made history offensively. The Cougars 105 points marked the highest total in Big 12 tournament history and made them just the second team to reach 100 points in the event. Kansas scored 102 against Colorado in 2002.
Robert Wright III added 14 points and six assists before leaving the game with 11:51 remaining in the second half after taking an elbow to the mouth from Kansas State (12-20) guard CJ Jones.
“Number three tried to do a Euro-step and he elbowed me in my mouth,” Wright said. The sophomore guard is expected to play in BYU’s second-round matchup on Wednesday.
Kennard “Moo” Davis Jr. provided a spark in the second half, scoring all 15 of his points after halftime. The transfer guard finished 5-of-8 from the field after starting the game 0-for-4 and added three rebounds and three assists.
Khadim Mboup also made a major impact off the bench. The redshirt freshman finished with eight points and 14 rebounds, falling just short of a double-double.
BYU was efficient offensively throughout the night, shooting 54.8% from the field compared with 50.8% for Kansas State. The Cougars also controlled the boards, outrebounding the Wildcats 40-29.
Kansas State controlled much of the first half before BYU responded late.
The Cougars led 36-26 before the Wildcats went on an 11-0 run behind PJ Haggerty, who scored eight points during the stretch, including two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to give Kansas State the lead.
BYU regained momentum just before halftime when Dybantsa capped a 7-0 run with a dunk to send the Cougars into the break with the lead.
Haggerty finished with 27 points, going 9-of-11 from the free-throw line, but struggled from the field. BYU held him to 1-of-8 shooting as the Cougars pulled away with a decisive 22-4 run in the second half.
With the win, BYU advances to face No. 7 seed West Virginia in the second round on Wednesday Mar. 11th. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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