BYU Gets Career Performances From Saunders, Traore In Win Over Idaho
Nov 16, 2024, 3:22 PM | Updated: Nov 18, 2024, 2:23 pm
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball defeated Idaho 95-71 on Saturday afternoon in front of 16,456 fans at the Marriott Center.
The final score went on how many expected the game to play out, however, BYU was tested for the first 20 minutes.
Career-high performances for Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore for #BYU against Idaho.
Richie Saunders
– 26 points (Career High)
– 4 rebounds
– 3 assistsFousseyni Traore
– 29 points (Career High)
– 9 rebounds
– 2 assists#BYUHoops— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 16, 2024
BYU had a lead of 41-38 at the break. Then they pulled away in the second half behind career-high scoring performances from Fousseyni Traore and Richie Saunders.
During the second half, Traore had a stretch where he scored 16 consecutive points. The senior finished with 29 points on 11-12 shooting from the field.
Saunders made key defensive plays that led to points. The junior guard scored 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field.
The victory improves BYU’s record to 4-0 this season.
First Half
15:39 – BYU started the game slow on both ends of the floor. The Cougars had some struggles defending the three-point line as Idaho knocked down two of its first three attempts.
Then BYU started the game, shooting 27% from the field.
Perhaps the early afternoon tip time caused a slow start? Idaho 8, BYU 4.
10:11 – BYU began finding their rhythm offensively, but Idaho was keeping pace with them. While BYU knocked down six of their last seven field goals, the Vandals hit their last four.
Idaho had an early edge in second-chance points at 5-2, an area where BYU has feasted the past few games. Idaho 23, BYU 21.
7:44 – Freshman BYU guard Elijah Crawford provided a spark before the media timeout with a hustle play on the floor to steal the ball away from Idaho’s Kyson Rose. Idaho 29, BYU 28.
4:59 – Idaho burned a timeout after Egor Demin pulled off an impressive pass through Vandal defenders to find Keba Keita for a layup. BYU put the lockdown on Idaho in this stretch, holding the Vandals to a three-minute scoring drought. BYU 33, Idaho 30.
3:09 – We got another example of the hustle from Richie Saunders. He nearly had a steal, but remained active on defense and came up with a block. Then, on the offensive end, he comes up with an assist as he finds a wide-open Egor Demin for a three. BYU 36, Idaho 30.
1:00 – Kevin Young showed some fire against one of the referees, exchanging a few words. A few possessions later, Idaho knocked down their seventh three in ten attempts as Jack Payne tied the game. BYU 38, Idaho 38.
36.8 – Egor Demin found an open Trevin Knell for a three to put BYU back in front. BYU 41, Idaho 38.
HALF – Demin had an impressive block on Jack Payne, setting up one final shot for BYU. Kanon Catchings fired off a three, which barely missed.
Halftime: BYU 41, Idaho 38
Kevin Young on Richie Saunders after a career-high 26 points: “He’s hard to keep off the floor.”#BYU #BYUHoops pic.twitter.com/lYpFNgBwoM
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 16, 2024
Second Half
15:48 – BYU began to create separation from the Vandals after Trevin Knell found Kanon Catchings cutting to the hoop for a slam dunk. On BYU’s next possession, Richie Saunders had a hard drive to the hoop to build an eight-point lead. BYU 53, Idaho 45.
11:32 – Richie Saunders had another block, and then he was able to gather possession, leading to a fastbreak slam dunk. Fousseyni Traore scored BYU’s last four points in this stretch which was capped off by and-one opportunity. BYU 64, Idaho 52.
7:03 – Fousseyni Traore has been perfect, scoring 23 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field and 5-5 from the free-throw line. BYU reeled off a 7-0 run and began to speed up Idaho as the Vandals committed four turnovers. BYU 74, Idaho 57.
6:08 – Traore had a stretch where he scored 16 consecutive points for BYU. He missed his first field goal attempt, to put him at 9-of-10 from the field. BYU 76, Idaho 57
2:46 – Keba Keita went down to the floor and suffered an injury. He had to be helped off the floor by team trainer Rob Ramos and walk-on teammate Townsend Tripple. Keita finished the day with four points and eight rebounds in 15 minutes of action. BYU 84, Idaho 69
1:34 – Demin completed a between-the-legs pass to Traore for a midrange jumper. The next possession, Saunders buried a three.
FINAL: BYU 95, Idaho 71
Next Up for BYU basketball
BYU basketball will return to action next Saturday when they close out a five-game homestand against Mississippi Valley State.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
