‘Big 3’ helps No. 9 BYU roll by Arizona State in Big 12 home opener

PROVO (KSL.com) — Richie Saunders must really like playing Arizona State.

At least, he did Wednesday night.

Saunders scored a career-high 31 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals as No. 9 BYU rolled to 2-0 in Big 12 play with a 104-76 win over Arizona State in front of 18,009 fans at the Marriott Center.

Saunders drained at least five 3-pointers in a game for the ninth time in his career — including his third time against Arizona State.

His 31 points beat his previous career high of 30 set last year in a 76-56 win over the Sun Devils.

This time, he had help, like the assist he got from Robert Wright III, who found him with a behind-the-back pass with 5:56 remaining that gave the Cougars a 92-54 lead.

“I saw him behind me, and I tried to time the pass perfect,” Wright said of the pass that came a minute and a half before Saunders fouled out. “I guess God did the rest.”

Added Saunders: “Those are the best, because you can feel the whole place. … If you make it, it’s amazing. And if you miss it, you hear 20,000 people doing that. Those are fun ones.”

AJ Dybantsa added 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists, a block and a steal, scoring 20 points for the eighth consecutive game. Wright finished with 27 points, three rebounds and four assists.

But give plenty of credit to Saunders, who was 10-of-13 from the field, 6-of-8 from deep, and a perfect 5-of-5 in free throws for a team that shot 20-of-25 from the charity stripe.

“I thought he was super locked in, and that’s what we talked about coming in,” BYU coach Kevin Young said of Saunders. “I challenged the group to start the game and leave no doubt who was the more focused team. I thought he kind of set the stage there.

“His scoring was a product of our spacing and unselfishness, as well as his individual greatness. It was a great night for him.”

Massamba Diop had 22 points and nine rebounds for Arizona State (9-6, 0-2 Big 12), and Anthony Johnson scored 24 for the Sun Devils.

But BYU’s “Big 3” combined for 81 points, while Arizona State’s starting five had 64. The Cougars also outscored the Sun Devils from the bench 15-12, led by Tyler Mrus’ 8 points and two assists.

The Cougars held Arizona State to 28% shooting before the break, and Wright knocked down BYU’s seventh triple at the horn to lift the hosts to a 45-30 advantage.

Wright had a game-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half; Dybantsa added 12 points, six rebounds and two assists; and Saunders supplied 13 points, four rebounds and a steal for the Cougars.

“They not only have talent,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said of the group, “but they play really hard and seem to play together in the right way.”

Hurley joked that “the only good thing” the Sun Devils accomplished was sending more than 18,000 fans home without free Chick-Fil-A from a sponsored promotion by making 13-of-18 free throws and not missing two in a row.

As for Young and his staff: Just give his “Big 3” the ball, and get out of the way, right?

“I learned that in the NBA, when guys are good, get space, get them the ball and sit down,” he said cheekily. “I say that tongue in cheek, but then it’s a lot of responsibility for them to make the right decisions.

“We play a pretty free-flowing style, and there are certain responsibilities that come with that. Those are three really mature guys who understand the game, and it allows them to be great.”

BYU didn’t stop there, though.

Saunders scored 10 as the Cougars opened the half on a 17-7 blitz, connecting on four of their first five shots including a pair of 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the second half.

Making his first start with Keba Keita unavailable, and an even shorter bench, Abdullah Ahmed scored 3 points with five rebounds, five blocks and a steal in 17 minutes before the Egyptian international finished the game with his quad wrapped on the bench.

BYU continues conference play Saturday at in-state rival Utah (8 p.m. MST, ESPN).