Saunders’ 25 points lifts BYU to first true road win at Colorado

BYU wing Richie Saunders blocks a shot Tuesday during the Cougars’ 83-67 win at Colorado. | Nate Edwards, BYU photo. BOULDER (KSL.com) — BYU went to Colorado for just the third time in the last 69 years and came away with a season-first. Richie Saunders poured in 25 points to go with five rebounds, a block and a steal as the Cougars pulled past Colorado 83-67 to earn their first true road win of the season Tuesday at the CU Events Center. Trevin Knell added 14 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting for BYU (12-6, 3-4 Big 12), and Mawot Mag had 11 points and five rebounds for the Cougars. Egor Demin totaled a game-high seven assists in the second half to go along with 8 points, four steals and two blocks with just two turnovers. “Richie’s been a stud for us all year,” BYU coach Kevin Young said of the 6-foot-5 junior wing from Riverton by way of Wasatch Academy. “He’s very consistent; he’s a hard guy to stop, because a lot of stuff he gets, he gets it within the flow. He probably has one of the quickest releases in the country, I think. “He’s just a really hard guy to stop.” Julian Hammond III had 17 and two assists to pace Colorado (9-9, 0-7 Big 12), whose seventh consecutive loss is the most to open conference play since the Buffaloes went 0-7 to start Pac-12 play in 2016-17. The Buffaloes are in a rough place at the moment, tying a winless skid that rivals any in Tad Boyle’s 14th season at Colorado. But BYU needed a win — and how, after taking just one from the past five games, including a 73-72 overtime loss Saturday at rival Utah. “This one was a must,” Knell told BYU Radio after the Cougars shot a season-best 56.5% from the field, including 11-of-24 3-pointers. “Coach (Young) always talks about how we’ve been right there in almost every game. We’ve been pounding the rock, and he said it’s a Sunday talk; if you pound the rock, eventually it’s going to break open. “I felt like this was a huge stepping stone, and things started to break open for us.” BYU opened the game nearly 12 minutes without a turnover, then had three giveaways in three minutes as Colorado used a 14-3 spurt to take a 30-22 advantage on Hammond’s triple with 6:13 left in the half. Saunders capped a 7-0 run with a steal and transition bucket to cut the deficit to 32-29 with 4:17 on the clock. Mag gave the Cougars a 33-32 lead with a 3-point play just over a minute later, and BYU held Colorado without a field goal for the final 6:13 of the first half to take a 38-36 edge into the locker room. Saunders had a game-high 14 points to go along with two rebounds, a block and a steal for BYU, which got 6 points from Dawson Baker before the break. Knell opened the second half with 3-pointers, including one as part of a 22-1 run in the first five minutes of the half to turn a 2-point edge into a 61-38 advantage after just six minutes. Colorado didn’t have a field goal until Baskin’s layup at the 12:39 mark of the second half. By then, the Cougars led by 21. Knell’s four 3-pointers marks the second time in three games with as many triples. “The way we stormed out of halftime was really impressive,” Young said. Colorado cut the deficit as close as 15, but couldn’t stop the visitors, who converted on 16 of their first 23 shots, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and closed with a 17-8 second-half advantage on the glass. It’s just the second win in the past six games for BYU, which returns home Saturday for the first of two winnable games against Cincinnati (8 p.m. MST, ESPN2) and next Tuesday against Baylor.The post Saunders’ 25 points lifts BYU to first true road win at Colorado appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com