No. 8 BYU shot 61.9 percent from the field, including 7-of-10 performances by AJ Dybantsa, Robert Wright III and Richie Saunders, in the Cougars’ 98-53 victory over Holy Cross in their home opener at Provo, Utah, on Saturday.
Saunders finished with a game-high 20 points.
Dybantsa had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Wright finished with 15 points.
Kennard Davis Jr. was 5 of 8 from the field, while Dawson Baker went 4 of 7. They each finished with 12 points.
BYU was 7 of 25 from 3-point range, but the Cougars were 32 of 38 (84.2 percent) within the arc.
The Cougars (2-0) outscored Holy Cross 62-28 in the paint.
They also committed only six turnovers while the Crusaders (0-2) had 15. BYU finished with a 24-2 edge in points off turnovers.
Holy Cross was led by Tyler Boston’s 12 points and Aidan Richard finished with 11.
BYU scored the first 10 points of the game, with Saunders scoring six of them.
The Cougars’ lead increased to 17-4 by the time Holy Cross made its first shot from the field, a jumper by Joe Nugent with 14:57 left in the first half.
A 14-0 run put BYU ahead 47-18 with 4:17 before halftime.
The stretch included four dunks, two by Dominique Diomande and one each by Keba Keita and Saunders.
The Cougars tallied 10 dunks in the game.
BYU led 58-25 at halftime with Wright, Dybantsa, and Saunders combining for 35 points to outscore the Crusaders at that point.
Holy Cross did not get closer than 30 points in the second half.
Its 8-0 run, which included two 3-pointers by Richard, cut the lead to 68-37 with 13:38 left.
BYU responded with seven consecutive points that included dunks in transition by Dybantsa and Diomande.
BYU tallied 20 assists in the game with Wright and Dybantsa each having three to lead the Cougars. Six others had two.
