Saunders goes for 24 as No. 9 BYU holds off rival Utah for first road rivalry win since 2021

SALT LAKE CITY — Richie Saunders may have saved his best road rivalry game for his last one.

Saunders scored 17 of his 24 points to go with 14 rebounds in the second half, and Robert Wright III added 23 points and six assists as No. 9 BYU held off Utah 89-84 in front of a sold-out crowd Saturday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

AJ Dybantsa supplied 20 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Cougars (15-1, 3-0 Big 12); and Keba Keita had 11 points and seven rebounds in his final return to the Huntsman Center.

Terrance Brown poured in a game-high 25 points to lead the Runnin' Utes (8-8, 0-3 Big 12), and Don McHenry scored 21.

But when it came to crunch time, Saunders was — to borrow a phrase from his coach — a man possessed, helping the Cougars cover ground everywhere to beat the spread.

The senior who grew up in Riverton before prepping at Wasatch Academy in Sanpete County had 7 points in the first half, but shot 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line after the break to go along with seven boards, an assist and a steal.

He played 18 minutes after the break, barely took a breathe, and finished the game with just two fouls.

"Richie's will to win is like nothing I've ever been around," BYU coach Kevin Young said after his first road rivalry win. "He wanted it, and we all wanted to get a win for him here in his senior year. He's just possessed, man, in a good way. That's the bottom line."

Saunders mentioned losing by 1-2 points in his previous trips to Salt Lake City, including an overtime setback last year, as motivation for what is likely his final trip to the House that Rick Majerus built.

So when the chance came to close out a win, he took it. The senior took just two 3-pointers in the second half, making one, and converted all five of his attempts inside the arc while shooting 4-of-7 from the free-throw line in what he repeated was an "amazing" win.

"They were really closing out hard to me, which allowed me to attack that close out," he said. "Props to my guys for making the right reads and finding me in those close-out opportunities."

He also had seven of his 14 rebounds in the second half, including four offensive boards as the Cougars outrebounded the Utes 42-31, with 17 offensive boards.

"We're going to give up size to other teams," Utah coach Alex Jensen said. "But it's hard to get a stop and then give up the offensive rebound. It's a hard thing to come back from, especially in the last few minutes."

Indeed, his teammates were pretty good, too. Dybantsa was known, and Jensen's game plan — as well as several direct chants from the MUSS — certainly focused on the five-star freshman with NBA draft lottery projections who became the first NCAA player in at least 30 years with nine-straight games of 20 points or more on 50% shooting.

But Wright, the former All-Big 12 freshman at Baylor, was on another level, as well.

"He had one turnover and played almost the entire game," Young quipped after complimenting Wright's poise. "They were obviously doing a lot with AJ, trying to get the ball out of his hands. And I can see why you do that, but we have a lot of guys on our team that can make plays and Rob stepped up and delivered."

Wright capped a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining in the half, and Kennard Davis Jr. pushed the Cougars in front by as much as 32-26 a minute later.

James Okwonko gave the Utes a 43-41 lead in the final minute of the half. But Wright pulled one back on the next possession, and Dybantsa drew a foul with a 3-point attempt at the buzzer to put the Cougars up, 45-43 at the half.

BYU opened the second half on a 12-2 run, holding the Utes scoreless from the field before Saunders scored at the rim for his sixth point of the half to give the Cougars a 57-45 lead a minute later.

But the Utes weren't done.

After the Cougars led by as many as 13 midway through the half, McHenry scored the hoop and the harm with 8:03 to go that capped a 9-2 run and pulled the Utes within five, 73-68.

A few minutes later, Brown found Keanu Dawes, who was playing with four fouls, with a bounce pass for a baseline dunk that pulled Utah within 80-78 with 3:35 to go.

But BYU outrebounded the Utes 17-14 in the second half and shot 19-of-29 from the free-throw line while holding the Utes to just one field goal the rest of the way.

BYU returns to the Marriott Center to host TCU on Wednesday (9 p.m. MST, ESPN2).

Utah hits the road to face No. 14 Texas Tech on Wednesday (7 p.m. MST, Peacock).

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