KANSAS CITY – Missouri –
Kennard Davis Jr. delivered his best performance of the season and helped send BYU to the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.
The St. Louis native scored a season-high 20 points to lead No. 10 seed BYU to a 68-48 victory over No. 7 seed West Virginia on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Center.
Davis shot 7-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and grabbed three rebounds. His final 3-pointer late in the second half prompted ESPN broadcasters Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla to exclaim “BY-MOO,” a nod to Davis’ nickname, as the Cougars sealed the win.
BYU pulled away in the second half, continuing a season-long trend of strong finishes. Davis scored 17 of his 20 points after halftime.
AJ Dybantsa added 27 points while shooting better than 45% from the field. The freshman also collected seven rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes.
The Brockton, Massachusetts, native continued his record-setting week. After scoring 40 points Tuesday against Kansas State, Dybantsa now has 67 points in two Big 12 Tournament games, surpassing Kevin Durant’s previous mark of 63 for the most points in a two-game span in tournament history.
Dybantsa is also averaging 33.5 points and 8.0 rebounds through BYU’s first two Big 12 Tournament games in Kansas City.
Defense set the tone early for the Cougars.
BYU forced 14 West Virginia turnovers in the first half — the most the Mountaineers have committed in an opening half this season — and held them to 8-of-22 shooting in the first 20 minutes.
West Virginia never recovered offensively.
Honor Huff led the Mountaineers with 17 points and started quickly, hitting his first two 3-point attempts. However, BYU’s defense limited him the rest of the way. The senior guard from Brooklyn, New York, finished 1-of-10 from the field after that early burst and made just one 3-pointer in the second half.
BYU also controlled the paint, outscoring West Virginia 38-20 inside.
With the victory, BYU advances to face No. 2 seed Houston in the quarterfinals Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Houston eliminated BYU from last year’s Big 12 Tournament in the semifinal round.
The Cougars will now look for their first conference victory over Houston since joining the Big 12.
With Wednesday’s win, BYU also strengthened its NCAA Tournament résumé and is projected to move into the No. 6 seed range.
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