Fusseyni Traore scored 20 points and took 10 returns from the bench Saturday night when No. 25 Byu exploded during the second half to visit West Virginia 77-56 in a BIG 12 conference game in Provo, Utah.
Egor Demin added 15 points for Cougars (21-8, 12-6), such as band no. 9 Iowa State for the fourth in the conference with two matches left. Byu, which has won six straight matches with an average of 14.2 points, also got 13 from Richie Saunders.
Javon Small got 15 points for the rock climbers (17-12, 8-10), which have changed profits and losses in the last five matches to remain square at the NCAA tournament. West Virginia made only 33.3 percent of its field goals, including 8 out of 27 (29.6 percent) from the 3-point line.
Still, it was still a close game at halftime before Cougars exploded. They opened the second half with a 10-2 driving and took the lead 35-21 when Keba Keita thumped with Demin’s feed with 16:44 left. The margin reached 20 on Demin’s 3-pointer at the 9: 52 brand and Byu never looked back.
Cougars preserved 20 out of 33 shots in the second half to end the match at 52.7 percent from the field. They also controlled the glass 43-32 and exceeded visitors in the color with a huge 46-22.
Byu entered the game as the first team in the century to enjoy three straight matches with at least 90 points, 50 percent field goal shooting, 12 3-points and 12 or fewer turnover. A slow start, it judged the line, but not Cougar’s possible success.
The rock climbers slowed down the pace and defended well enough to own a lead of 17-13 with 4:51 left when small drilled a long 3-pointer from Toby Okani. West Virginia made only 25 percent from the floor in half but committed only a turnover.
However, Cougars finally started and ended half with a 12-2 run that gave them a lead of 25-19 half time. Saunders and Traore combined for the team’s last eight points in 2:17.
-Field level media
