- AJ Dybantsa scored 25 points in BYU's 86-84 loss to UConn.
- UConn's Tarris Reed Jr. and Silas Demary Jr. each contributed 21 points.
- BYU's comeback fell short despite key plays from Richie Saunders and Dawson Baker.
PROVO — BYU basketball's first loss of the 2025-26 season was almost a blowout, and then a near-comeback.
But a 2-point loss in a top-10 matchup on a neutral site in Boston shouldn't damage the Cougars' resume much.
Tarris Reed Jr. had 21 points and eight rebounds, and Silas Demary Jr. added 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists as No. 3 UConn held on to hand BYU its first loss, 86-84 Saturday night at TD Garden.
Alex Karaban had 21 points, three rebounds and two steals for the Huskies (4-0).
AJ Dybantsa totaled a game-high 25 points and six rebounds just 25 miles from his hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts, and Richie Saunders added 17 points and four boards for the Cougars (3-1).
Robert Wright III supplied 16 points and four assists for BYU, and Dawson Baker tied a season-high with 12 points including a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left that cut the deficit to 84-82.
"Guys stepped up after digging ourselves into a hole," BYU coach Kevin Young said. "Our group hasn't had a lot of adversity to this point, and it was good to see our guys have to respond in obviously a great atmosphere against a really good team. There are definitely some things that I think will help us as we navigate not only the rest of the season, but even into the postseason."
Dybantsa knocks down the THREE! @BYUMBBpic.twitter.com/3s3V5pHQQG
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 16, 2025
Still, the Huskies had too many weapons, which one might expect from a team with two of the last three national titles.
"A team like that, they have players everywhere," Baker told BYU Radio. "It's always hard; you can only take away so much. There are a lot of things we messed up with, scheme-wise, communication-wise. We'll get better from it."
BYU was without Kennard Davis Jr., who sat on the bench in street clothes for a violation of team rules two days after the regular starter was arrested and cited under suspicion of DUI by Provo police.
The Cougars also lost Keba Keita before the break after the starting center was helped woozily off the court 12 minutes into the game. He finished with two rebounds and one shot attempt.
For the second straight game, the Cougars found themselves in an early deficit, shooting just 2-of-12 from 3-point range while Karaban, Reed, and Demary all scored11 to lift the Huskies to a 43-32 halftime lead.
Saunders had 8 points with three rebounds in the first half, and Dybantsa shot just 1-of-6 from the field in his return to his hometown for 4 points and four rebounds for the Cougars, who trailed by as much as 15 before the break until Tyler Mrus canned his first triple of the season to at the halftime horn to pull within 11.
Demary capped a 7-0 spurt to push the Huskies' lead to 59-39 with five minutes into the half.
But the Cougars weren't done. Or at least, Dybantsa wasn't.
The five-star freshman drained a hometown jumper with 4:56 cut the deficit as low as 73-68 as BYU capped a 13-2 run with 4:29 to go.
Rinse. Repeat. Suddenly, BYU was within five after Dybantsa's and-one play with 4:15 on the clock — a play that also took Jayden Ross out of the game with 10 points and a fifth foul.
But the Cougars came up just short.
"Once we figure this team out," Baker said, "the sky's the limit. It's going to take some work to get that continuity down. But once we do, there's not going to be a more impressive team on paper or on the court once we figure those things out."
BYU hosts No. 24 Wisconsin next Friday, Nov. 21 at the Delta Center (2 p.m. MST, Peacock).
