PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball desperately needed a win.
On Saturday night, the Cougars got that coveted win, taking down No. 10 Texas Tech in the regular season finale, 82-76.
That led to BYU’s student section, The ROC, pouring onto the Marriott Center to celebrate the Senior Night victory.
BYU trailed Texas Tech by 13 points after a blistering hot shooting performance from the Red Raiders in the first half, where they hit 12 3-pointers.
Despite the first-half struggles, BYU remained aggressive, grabbing 20 offensive rebounds.
Rob Wright III finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-17 from the field. He scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half.
Texas Tech star Christian Anderson scored 23 points, along with Donovan Atwell.
AJ Dybantsa finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
BYU closes the regular season at 21-10 overall.
First Half
Under-16: Texas Tech 6, BYU 5
BYU put together one of its best opening stretches since Richie Saunders went down three weeks ago.
The Cougars were playing with an intensity that was lacking during the eastern road trip.
Still, Texas Tech star Christian Anderson and sharpshooter Donovan Atwell were able to hit threes.
BYU attempted five more field goals than Tech, but was struggling to hit.
Under-12: Texas Tech 14, BYU 12
BYU’s starting five was on the floor for the first 7:48 of game action before Kevin Young turned to some players on his bench.
Under-8: Texas Tech 31, BYU 18
Texas Tech built up a baker’s dozen lead after red-hot shooting from three-point range.
The Red Raiders were at 7-11 from 3-point range, while BYU opened the game 1-12.
Under-4: Texas Tech 31, BYU 25
BYU put together a 7-0 run thanks to buckets from Kennard Davis Jr. and Khadim Mboup.
Davis gathered an offensive rebound for a putback, then hit his first three of the game after missing his first five attempts.
Mboup drew an and-one after crashing the glass, but couldn’t hit the free throw.
Texas Tech’s bigs were in foul trouble, with Luke Bamgboye picking up two fouls to go along with LeJuan Watts. Watts re-entered the game with two fouls.
Halftime: Texas Tech 46, BYU 38
Both teams caught fire from three-point range to close out the half. The Red Raiders finished the half hitting 63% of their attempts, 12-of-19.
BYU started to bury threes after beginning the game 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.
The Cougars closed the half 5-of-18 thanks to Davis and Dybantsa.
Still, Tech was on a blistering pace offensively at 1.586 points per possession in the first half.
Second Half
Under-16: Texas Tech 51, BYU 47
BYU continued to get the Texas Tech big men in foul trouble.
On BYU’s first offensive possession, Rob Wright III hit a floater along the basline drawing an and-one foul against Luke Bamgboye for his third. Then, Marial Akuentok picked up his third foul after a hard screen on Kennard Davis Jr.
AJ Dybantsa was on the receiving end of a lot of contact, but no whistle was going in favor of the star freshman. At the under-16 mark, he had only attempted one free throw in the game.
Under-12: Texas Tech 57, BYU 55
Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland called a timeout after BYU trimmed the Tech lead to one at 52-51 with 14:26 remaining.
During the timeout, BYU fans skipped over the corporate sponsor timeout game to chant, “B-Y-U, COUGARS” throughout the Marriott Center.
The Marriott Center crowd was energized for the first time since the Iowa State game.
Coming out of the timeout, Texas Tech got three shot attempts from deep up, Donovan Atwell’s hit to get the lead back up to four.
BYU guard Rob Wright III opened the second half, hitting his first five field goal attempts.
Under-8: BYU 64, Texas Tech 64
BYU took its first lead since 8-6 after AJ Dybantsa drew an and-one from his signature midrange shot at the Big 12 logo.
But Texas Tech guard Jaylen Petty quickly answered shots, leaving BYU without an offensive possession with the lead.
Under-4: BYU 75, Texas Tech 68
BYU put together a 9-0 run that had the Marriott Center as loud as it has been this year.
The Cougars got rolling after getting a defensive stop with the lead. That occurred at the 6:12 mark. Then AJ Dybantsa drew an and-one from the Big 12 logo to get BYU up by two possessions.
Final: BYU 82, Texas Tech 76
Kennard Davis Jr. knocked down a clutch corner three, with a friendly bounce to put BYU back in front, 78-75, after Christian Anderson knocked down a three to tie it at 75.
Up next for BYU is the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, where they will play in the first round on Tuesday.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYUathletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
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