No. 19 BYU Crushes Fresno State To Stay Unbeaten
Dec 1, 2023, 8:56 PM | Updated: 11:34 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – No. 19 BYU basketball played its first game as an AP Top 25 team on Friday night against Fresno State. They did it inside the Delta Center, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz.
Final: No. 19 BYU 85, Fresno State 56
Cougars improve to 7-0 on the season.#BYUHoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/vU22z2wTY1
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 2, 2023
Even though the venue was different, BYU continued to do what they have done to their opponents, dominate.
No. 19 BYU defeated Fresno State 85-56 to improve to 7-0 on the season.
Jaxson Robinson and Spencer Johnson combined for 46 points. Fresno State’s Isaiah Hill was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs with 14.
BYU now turns its attention to Tuesday night in the Marriott Center against Evansville.
First Half
16:24 – Feeling out process without Fousseyni Traore. BYU is a different-look team, with Khalifa at the five instead of Fouss. So far, they are maintaining that ‘Thrust’ offense with six fast break points. BYU 8, Fresno State 4.
11:13 – BYU reeled off an 11-0 run. Spencer Johnson has jumped out to 12 points. Aly Khalifa is making winning plays in his first career start with the Cougars. He picked up an assist and altered two shots. Atiki Ally Atiki stepped in for him off the bench at the 12:43 mark and he instantly produced with a slam dunk and an offensive rebound that drew an FSU foul. BYU 19, FSU 7.
9:15 – Atiki Ally Atiki was called for a technical foul. That puts him at two personal fouls. He slammed the ball on the court out of frustration after being called for a foul. Last week, Atiki was ejected for throwing a punch at an Arizona State player. BYU 24, FSU 11.
6:09 – Jaxson Robinson started to heat up off the bench again for BYU. He scored eight points in the last four minutes. BYU 29, Fresno State 15.
3:27 – Noah Waterman got on the board with a three. Last week, Waterman was the MVP at the Vegas Showdown. The BYU offense is in a lull for the past four minutes. BYU 32, FSU 19.
0:00 – BYU closed out the half with a beautiful assist to Jaxson Robinson. Khalifa is a magician passing the ball. It was a needed bucket for BYU as they seemed stuck in mud offensively. Before that score from Robinson, BYU had scored only five points in the previous 8:15. BYU 36, Fresno State 23.
BYU basketball heats up in Second Half
15:30 – Spencer Johnson is playing a flawless game. He’s scored 18 points on nine field goal attempts. What’s impressive about Johnson is his production comes within BYU’s offensive sets. BYU 49, Fresno State 28.
13:19 – Fresno State has size, but they make a lot of mistakes. BYU capitalizes when Fresno State turns the rock over. BYU 51, Fresno State 35.
6:23 – BYU has an ability this season to pour it on teams in a hurry. The Cougars have reeled off a 14-2 run in the last 3:38 to put them close to a 3o-point lead. Spencer Johnson is creating easy buckets in transition. BYU 72, FSU 44.
2:47 – Jaxson Robinson has caught fire reaching a game-high 24 points. Robinson scored 14 points in the second half on 5-of-9 shooting. BYU 80, FSU 51.
0:00 – BYU finishes the game shooting 38% from three-point range, 49% from the field. Fresno State committed 21 turnovers leading to 39 BYU points off FSU turnovers.
Final: BYU 85, Fresno State 56
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.
