'He was phenomenal:' Career night for Keita lifts No. 9 BYU to 7-1 start over California Baptist

SALT LAKE CITY — AJ Dybantsa's future NBA home is still yet to be determined, though it's all-but certain he'll have one.

He looked comfortable enough Wednesday night in the home of the Utah Jazz.

Dybantsa poured in 22 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Keba Keita added a career-high at BYU with 22 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks as the ninth-ranked Cougars improved to 7-1 with a 91-60 win over California Baptist at the Delta Center.

For Keita, it's the most points since the senior from Bamako, Mali went for 23 points and seven rebounds in a win over Southern Utah during his sophomore campaign at Utah.

"He's had a little bit of a rough go, with some injuries and still finding his wind out there," BYU coach Kevin Young said of his starting center. "Teams have to make decisions on how they want to guard us, and that statistically lets the 3-point line paralyze them a little bit, so Keba was open a lot around the paint — and I thought our dive-hard guys did a great job of finding him.

"He was phenomenal; the touch he showed around the basket, his free throws have improved, and he was just an animal tonight. It was good to see him get rewarded, because he does so much dirty work for everyone else."

Dybantsa added that "it was the headband" in trying to explain Keita's best game in a BYU uniform.

"With him, you can just throw it up and he'll go get it. I think he showed that," he added. "I think he definitely imposed his will tonight."

All five of BYU's starters scored in double figures, including 15 points, 11 assists, four rebounds and three steals from Robert Wright III and 12 points, five rebounds and four steals from Richie Saunders.

Kennard Davis Jr. added 11 points including 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range for BYU in its fourth straight win that also included a 98-70 victory over then-No. 23 Wisconsin at the Delta Center.

Wright's 11 dimes were more than the CBU team, which assisted on 10 of 20 made field goals. It's the second time he's out-assisted the the opposing team inside the Delta Center, after he had 11 assists to the Badgers' eight in a 98-70 win over then-No. 23 Wisconsin.

"Tough, bro," Dybantsa said of the Baylor transfer guard. "It's like I've said previously, I think he's the best point guard in the country. When he's playing like that, we're blowing teams out."

The Cougars started fast in this one, and led for all but 19 seconds of the wire-to-wire win.

Dybantsa poured in 16 in the first half, including capping a 15-2 run that helped the Cougars lead by as much as 36-18 with six minutes left in the half.

The former five-star recruit and projected NBA Draft lottery pick added five rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal as he stuffed the stat sheet before the break.

Keita added 12 points and eight rebounds before the break for BYU, which held the Lancers to 29.4% shooting including just 3-of-15 from 3-point range en route to a 42-26 halftime lead.

Saunders canned a triple to stretch the Cougars' lead to 55-35 less than five minutes into the second half, and BYU led by as much as 32 to cruise to the win.

Martel Williams totaled 12 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead California Baptist (7-2), the No. 72 team in the NET rankings that outscored BYU from the bench 20-9.

Mihailo Boskovic led the Cougars' subs with 5 points to go along with one rebound and an assist in 15 minutes.

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