No. 7 BYU rallies after halftime to beat Delaware 85-68

Audio By Carbonatix

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Robert Wright III and Richie Saunders each scored 26 points to lead No. 7 BYU to an 85-68 victory over Delaware on Tuesday night.

Wright also had nine assists and nine rebounds. Saunders added 10 rebounds and went 6 of 11 from 3-point range. AJ Dybantsa chipped in with 18 points and seven boards for the Cougars (3-0).

BYU trailed by 13 in the first half before lighting up Delaware (0-3) from the perimeter after halftime. The Cougars went 11 of 20 from long distance in the second half.

Christian Bliss and Macon Emory led the Blue Hens with 18 points apiece.

After trailing the entire first half, BYU finally went in front when the outside shots started falling. Saunders and Wright made back-to-back 3s to put the Cougars up 51-48.

Then back-to-back dunks from Dybantsa and three 3-pointers from Saunders highlighted a 20-5 run that extended BYU’s lead to 73-57 with 7:19 left.

Delaware scored 10 straight points to open the game and raced out to a 17-4 lead. Emory and Jameel Brown ignited the fast start by scoring back-to-back baskets at the rim in the first 19 seconds.

BYU chipped away at the deficit and initially cut it to four on consecutive layups from Dybantsa and Wright. The Blue Hens answered with an 8-0 run bookended by 3-pointers from Tyler Houser and Bliss to extend their lead to 27-15.

BYU started 0 of 11 from 3-point range but got its first outside basket from Wright with 2:50 left before halftime.

Delaware hosts Saint Peter's next Tuesday.

BYU plays No. 3 UConn in Boston on Saturday.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball