Provo, Utah –
BYU men’s basketball opened its home non-conference slate Saturday night, rolling past Holy Cross in a 98-53 blowout at the Marriott Center.
The Cougars’ “big three” of Richie Saunders, AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright combined for 52 points on 70% shooting from the field.
Saunder led the way with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes of play.
He appeared fully healthy after battling the flu earlier in the week during BYU’s season-opening win over Villanova in Las Vegas. Reports said Saunders was vomiting the morning of that game.
He showed no signs of illness Saturday, scoring 12 first-half points, all on aggressive drives to the rim.
Per a handful of national outlets the senior guard from Riverton is poised for another big year. Last the “Tot King” made 75 3-pointers last season and was named First Team All-Big 12 (2025) so all eyes are on him and the rest of Kevin Young’s squad.
Dybantsa added 17 points and eight rebounds, finishing just two boards shy of a double-double.
Wright chipped in 15 points, with both freshmen scoring all of their field goals in the paint.
Unlike last year’s squad, which often attempted 30 to 40 3-pointers per game, this BYU team is showing a more balanced, attack-oriented offense. The Cougars scored 62 of their 98 points in the paint and shot 61.9% from the field.
Defensively, BYU locked down the Crusaders from the perimeter, forcing them to miss 15 consecutive 3-point attempts. Holy Cross didn’t connect from beyond the arc until the 15:03 mark of the second half, finishing 3 of 22 (13.6%) from long range.
Up next, BYU (2-0) will host Delaware on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at the Marriott Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MST, with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
