Wyoming Cowboys vs BYU Cougars Match Player Stats On Dec 30, 2023

Trevin Knell and Noah Waterman scored 17 points apiece and shot a combined 8 of 15 on 3-point attempts as No. 14 BYU blew away Wyoming 94-68 in a nonconference matchup on Saturday in Provo, Utah.

BYU (12-1) won its fourth straight game going into its Big 12 opener vs. fellow conference newcomer Cincinnati on Jan. 6. Atiki Ally Atiki finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Jaxon Robinson chipped in 10 points.

Aly Khalifa racked up eight assists with one turnover, but his easily-best-in-the-nation assist-to-turnover ratio still stood at 14-to-1. The next-highest figure going into Saturday was 5.82-to-1. The turnover was only Khalifa's third this season, to 42 assists. He also contributed nine points and five rebounds.

Sam Griffin scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead Wyoming (7-6), which begins its Mountain West campaign on Tuesday against San Jose State. Mason Walters added 12 points for the Cowboys, whose attempted comeback in the second half fizzled quickly.

With Wyoming down 11 at halftime, Walters had a chance to trim the deficit to single digits in the first minute of the second half, but he made only one of two free throws, leaving the Cowboys trailing 44-34. Minutes later, the Cougars had the lead up to 17 on a 3-pointer by Knell.

Five straight points by Akuel Kot reduced the margin to 11, but BYU scored the next 14 points to lead by 25. Wyoming got no closer than 22 the rest of the way.

The Cougars shot 53.4 percent from the floor, including 14 of 32 from long range. Waterman was 5 of 10 from distance, and Knell was 3 of 5. Wyoming finished at 39.7 percent overall and 7 of 20 on 3-pointers after entering the contest fourth in nation at 41.36 percent.

BYU, a 20-point favorite, led by 19 with about four minutes left in the first half after a 3-pointer by Dallin Hall. Most of that bulge came via an 18-0 burst.

The Cougars went 8 of 13 from the floor in that span, while the Cowboys went almost seven minutes without a field goal.

Griffin, Wyoming's leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, netted 11 in the final four-plus minutes of the first half as the Cowboys pulled with 44-33 at the break. He had 15 at the half.

--Field Level Media