BYU Cruises Past Colorado For First Road Win Of Season
Jan 21, 2025, 11:25 PM
BYU basketball wing Richie Saunders was a key performer in the Cougars earning their first road win of the season at Colorado. (Nate Edwards/BYU Photo)
(Nate Edwards/BYU Photo)
BOULDER, Colo. – BYU basketball earned that coveted road victory.
The Cougars defeated Colorado 83-67 in a late-night Big 12 clash at the CU Events Center.
Final: BYU 83, Colorado 67.
First road win of the season and first true road win of the Kevin Young era. pic.twitter.com/T7vh9BMxIM
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 22, 2025
BYU Basketball defeats Colorado 83-67
There was a stretch in the first half where BYU basketball looked to be on their way to a similar outcome to their previous four road games when they trailed 32-22 in the first half.
However, this time was different as Richie Saunders led the charge to assemble a 7-0 run that eventually became a 39-6 run. No, that’s not a typo.
BYU pulled away from the Buffs with a 39-6 run, and Colorado could never regain the hot shooting momentum they had at the beginning of the game.
Richie Saunders finished with a game-high 25 points. But BYU had contributions from many players in the first road victory under first-year head coach Kevin Young.
Egor Demin had one of the best games of his BYU career against a power conference opponent. The freshman guard had eight points and seven assists.
The uptempo BYU offensive attack came alive against Colorado and the three-pointers were falling as BYU knocked down 46% of its three-pointers.
Colorado is 0-7 in Big 12 play and remains the conference’s lone winless team this season. BYU improves to 3-4 and 12-6 overall.
First Half
15:38 – Colorado’s Bangot Dak was called for an early technical foul after leaning into Keba Keita.
BYU freshman guard Egor Demin had a strong start, driving to the rim for an easy bucket and then generating a steal on the defensive end. Colorado 6, BYU 4.
12:29 – The game was turning chippy as Kanon Catching had a foul that was reviewed by officials for a potential flagrant but was ruled as a common foul.
BYU coach Kevin Young and Colorado coach Tad Boyle shared words with the referees. The Cougar offense jumped out to an early lead with Dak out due to foul trouble. BYU 17, Colorado 13.
7:45 – BYU went on a scoring drought of 2:06 to allow Colorado to go back in front. The Buffs were shooting 75% from the field. Colorado 23, BYU 22.
3:36 – Colorado went on a 14-0 run that put them in front 32-22, and the Cougars looked lifeless. But junior wing Richie Saunders wouldn’t go down lightly.
Saunders popped off a 7-0 run to end BYU’s five-minute scoring drought. He also impacted the defensive end with a block and a steal that led to a fastbreak layup. CU 32, BYU 29.
Halftime: BYU 38, Colorado 36
Richie Saunders had a wide-open corner three attempt as the first half clock was expiring, but it went off the rim. BYU went into the halftime locker room with a two-point lead.
Richie Saunders led all scorers with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.
Julian Hammond III led the way in scoring for Colorado with 11 points.
Second Half
17:42 – BYU jumped out to a 9-1 run to open the second half, forcing Tad Boyle to call an early timeout. Egor Demin had a beautiful pass to set up a three-pointer for Richie Saunders, and then, on the next possession, he had an assist for Trevin Knell. BYU 47, Colorado 37.
15:47 – Chants of “BYU, BYU, BYU” began taking over the CU Events Center from BYU fans as the Cougars built up a 16-point lead and continued to hold Colorado without a field goal. BYU 54, Colorado 38.
13:59 – Egor Demin got a steal and a fastbreak slam dunk to give BYU a 39-6 run after they trailed by 10 in the first half. BYU 61, CU 38.
12:39 – For the first time since the 6:13 mark in the first half, Colorado hit a field goal after Trevor Baskin got one to fall. That was more than 13 minutes of game action without a field goal. BYU 61, CU 40.
7:26 – BYU has shot 67% from three-point range in the second half. Trevin Knell, Richie Saunders, Kanon Catchings, and Dawson Baker knocked down triples. Colorado’s offense woke up slightly as Carrington and Hammond knocked down treys. BYU 71, CU 51.
3:51 – BYU knocked down five of its previous seven field goal attempts. BYU 77, CU 61.
Final: BYU 8
Up Next for BYU Basketball
BYU will look for a second consecutive Big 12 win on Saturday when they host the Cincinnati Bearcats at the Marriott Center.
Tip-off was initially scheduled for 8 p.m. (MST) but has been moved back to 8:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Cincinnati lost to Texas Tech at home on Tuesday night and is now 2-5 in Big 12 play this season.
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.
