No. 19 BYU suffered a 79-71 defeat to West Virginia on Saturday at Hope Coliseum, marking their first loss at the venue. The Cougars struggled offensively in the latter part of the first half, failing to make a field goal for nearly eight minutes and seeing a four-point lead turn into a 14-point halftime deficit.
Despite outscoring West Virginia 45-39 in the second half and narrowing the gap to three points late in the game, BYU could not overcome the Mountaineers’ advantage on offensive rebounds.
Robert Wright III led all scorers with 23 points, making seven of his fifteen shots from the field, two of five from beyond the arc, and converting seven of eight free throws. “Wright III scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the first half as the sophomore went 7-of-15 from the field, 2-of-5 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line for his 11th 20-point game of the season.”
Freshman AJ Dybantsa contributed another strong performance with 20 points—his eighth consecutive game reaching that mark—and added seven rebounds. “Dybantsa scored 20 points for the eighth straight game and 22nd time this season, with the freshman going 7-of-15 from the field, 2-of-7 from three and 4-of-6 from the field to go along with seven rebounds.”
Aleksej Kostic also reached double figures for a second consecutive game, hitting four three-pointers.
In the opening minutes, both teams exchanged baskets before BYU went on a nine-point run led by Wright III. The Cougars held West Virginia without a field goal for over six minutes but could not maintain momentum as Honor Huff sparked an eight-point Mountaineer surge before halftime.
BYU started strong after intermission with a seven-point run that trimmed West Virginia’s lead to single digits. Dybantsa and Kostic kept BYU within reach through timely scoring, but West Virginia maintained control down the stretch thanks to free throws and offensive boards.
The Cougars will finish their regular-season road schedule against Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday, March 4. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
