SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Rob Wright III scored 33 points and made four 3-pointers to lead No. 25 BYU to a 94-83 victory over Ohio State on Monday night.
Collin Chandler and Tyler Betsey each had 15 points for the Cougars. Bruce Branch III had 12 points and Jaxon Kohler scored 11. Betsey and Kohler both grabbed six rebounds. BYU (1-0) shot 69% from the field and made seven 3-pointers in the second half.
Amare Bynum led the Buckeyes (0-1) with 18 points.
John Mobley Jr. had 14 points and seven assists before fouling out with 4:48 left. Andrija Jelavic had 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Cougars scored baskets on four straight possessions, culminating in a second-chance corner 3 from Wright, to take their first lead of the game. BYU eventually extended the lead to 50-43 on a three-point play from Kohler.
Ohio State briefly regained a 57-55 lead on Mobley’s layup. But the Cougars surged in front for good with a 14-2 run highlighted by Kohler’s reverse backdoor layup and a 3-pointer from Wright for a 73-61 lead with 7:24 left.
BYU struggled from the perimeter out of the gate, missing eight of its first nine 3-point field goal attempts. Ohio State took advantage of the cold outside shooting to surge ahead of the Cougars midway through the first half.
The Buckeyes used an 11-3 run to take a 24-13 lead with 8:32 left before halftime. Starting with a dunk from Bynum and ending on a jumper from Curtis Givens III, Ohio State scored baskets on four straight possessions to push its lead to double digits.
BYU cut the deficit to 37-34 going into halftime on a corner 3 from Nate Pickens.
Ohio State hosts Youngstown State on Friday night.
BYU hosts Omaha on Friday night.
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