BYU Basketball Wipes Holy Cross, Extends Home-Opener Winning Streak

PROVO, Utah — BYU basketball made it 20 straight years with a win in the home-opener as they stomped the Holy Cross Crusaders 98-53 at the Marriott Center on Saturday.

Everything but the long ball was working for the Cougars in game two of the season. BYU shot 61.9 percent from the field, out-rebounded, out-assisted, and out-hustled Holy Cross.

Five Cougars players finished in double figures with Richie Saunders (20) and AJ Dybantsa (17) leading the way.

First Half

Fresh off a confidence-building win over Villanova in Las Vegas on Monday, BYU basketball took the home court for the first time this season, and the team’s poise was on full display.

On offense, the Cougars got into the paint at will. On defense, their length and activity caused plenty of problems for the Holy Cross offense.

After five straight three-point misses from the Crusaders and a string of easy looks inside for BYU, the score quickly got out of hand. It took less than three minutes for the Cougars to go up by double digits.

WE HAVE LIFT OFF.

📺 https://t.co/W5lFRzJ8hX pic.twitter.com/mtDwwnKtKF

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 9, 2025

A 10-0 advantage turned into 17-2 at the first TV timeout; all of BYU’s points came either in the paint or from the free throw line.

Although Holy Cross would come around a bit on offense, the entirety of the first half played out similarly to the first five minutes.

At the midway point of the first half, BYU led 27-11 while shooting 11 for 18 from the field. Almost all of their misses came from the perimeter as they still hadn’t ripped the twine from 15 feet or beyond.

AJ Dybantsa got his first rest after about 11 minutes. He checked out with nine points and two rebounds.

say cheese 📸 https://t.co/k6twwB8egu pic.twitter.com/zjrTBNbaPy

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 9, 2025

With just under seven minutes left in the half, BYU opened a 20-point lead at 39-18. The Cougars had dropped 15 of their first 22 attempts, while the Crusaders struggled at just 7/21.

With 2:40 left, Dawson Baker ended the drought from deep. BYU and Holy Cross combined for 1/24 shooting from three in the first half.

20 points eventually turned to 30, and BYU took a 58-25 lead into the break.

20 down 20 to go pic.twitter.com/E3INd3P7PS

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 9, 2025

Second Half

The late Baker triple opened the floodgates from the third level for BYU. Three of their first four makes came from downtown.

Ironically, the rest of the offense slowed down instead.

Through the first seven minutes of the half, the Cougars scored just 13 points. Holy Cross scored 12 in the same stretch.

From there, BYU rattled off a 14-4 run, which paved the way for the bench to be cleared. The final four minutes of the game marked the first time this season that BYU didn’t have Rob Wright or AJ Dybantsa on the floor.

Even then, the Cougars outscored the Crusaders down the stretch to secure the 98-53 home-opening win.

Home Dub 🤙 pic.twitter.com/oAekHcJgPr

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 9, 2025

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BYU basketball stays at home on Tuesday, November 11, as it hosts the Delaware Blue Hens at the Marriott Center. After that matchup, the Cougars will see No. 4 UConn and No. 24 Wisconsin in the span of a week.

Mitch Harper is the BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

Find KSL Sports coverage of BYU athletics here.

Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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