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PROVO — BYU's lengthy win streak against TCU came to an end Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas, but the Cougars' road struggles continued.
Noah Reynolds poured in 21 points with three assists, and TCU scored 17 points off 16 turnovers to beat BYU 71-67 at Schollmeier Arena as the Horned Frogs snapped a 17-game losing skid against their former Mountain West rivals.
Vasean Allette added 11 points and five assists for TCU (9-6, 2-2 Big 12), which got 10 points from freshman Micah Robinson to stay unbeaten at home.
Richie Saunders poured in 26 points on 5-of-7 3-point shooting with six rebounds to lead BYU (10-5, 1-3 Big 12). Egor Demin had 8 points and four assists for the Cougars.
"Richie was great tonight," Young told BYU Radio of Saunders, who looked like the go-to player his staff has searched for after struggling in a loss to Texas Tech. "I loved his bounce back after two not-great showings. I know he's kicking himself; he only had two turnovers, but they were costly. Knowing him, he'll be extremely critical of himself.
"I know he's a guy we can rely on in any kind of game."
The first-year head coach switched up the starting lineup after back-to-back losses, replacing Dallin Hall with Trevin Knell. But the decision was short-lived as the senior from Woods Cross drew two fouls in the first two minutes, and Dawson Baker replaced him as the first player off the bench.
Instead, turnovers continued to rear their ugly head — 16 in all, leading to 17 points for TCU. The Cougars held TCU to 37.5% from 3-point range, including just 2-of-12 in the second half, and outrebounded the hosts 35-24 including 28-6 on the defensive glass.
But the visitors were scoreless from the field for the final 3:10 of a game neither side by more than 6 in the second half.
"I thought edge was not the issue tonight. Turnovers were really the bottom line," Young said. "Our guys competed their tails off, it was back-and-forth at the end, but I thought our edge was where it needed to be — for the most part."
Reynolds scored 10 points in the first half, and the Horned Frogs led by as much as 33-23 before the break. But BYU pulled even on Saunders' 3-pointer just 1:59 before halftime, and Demin capped a 12-0 run a minute later to help the Cougars to a 37-34 edge at the break.
Saunders had 12 points in the first half, and Fousseyni Traore added 5 points and five rebounds off the bench for BYU, which shot 59.1% from the field and held TCU to 40% shooting — but 7-of-12 from 3-point range.
But the Frogs didn't go away.
BYU never led by more than 6 points, and the lead evaporated when Trazarien White capped a 6-0 spurt to take a 47-46 lead with 13:14 remaining.
Saunders downed his fifth triple to push BYU in front, 65-63 with 3:10 remaining. But BYU was held scoreless for 2:35 — again, turnovers reared up, including nine steals for TCU — and the two teams were tied at 67 with just 35 seconds to go.
Reynolds came off a screen and banked in a layup with 24 seconds left, and the Frogs held on for their first win in the series since 1997.
"I don't think there's one magic pill," Young said. "I think we have a lot of things that we need to get better at. Every game reveals a different challenge.
"If I had to point to one thing, though, it would be turnovers," he quickly added. "We've got to trim the fat with the turnovers. We've got to be better there."
BYU returns home Tuesday to face Oklahoma State (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
