LAS VEGAS — In a night of BYU comebacks, Jaxson Robinson scored a career-high 23 points as BYU men’s basketball fought back from a 12-point deficit to score 57 second-half points in a 95-86 win over NC State on Friday night at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
With the win over the Wolfpack, BYU was crowned champions of the Vegas Showdown and improved to 6-0 on the season. Noah Waterman was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player with Trevin Knell also picking up all-tournament honors.
Robinson caught fire in the second half as he scored 15 of his 23 after the break, including 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. The senior sharpshooter went 7-of-14 from the field and posted four rebounds on the night.
Waterman shot 6-of-9 from the field for 15 points and gobbled up six boards. Knell, Dallin Hall and Spencer Johnson each score in double figures as well. Hall shot 5-of-6 from the field for 13 points while recording three rebounds and three assists. Knell posted 13 points and five rebounds while Johnson put up 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Aly Khalifa came off the bench and made key second-half contributions on his way to five points, nine rebounds, five assists and a steal.
BYU outshot NC State 57-47 percent for the game and hit 14 3-pointers to the Wolfpack’s 10. While BYU turned the ball over 17 times to NC State’s nine, the Cougars did record 20 assists and won the rebounding battle 39-30.
First Half
The first half saw BYU battle through turnovers and an injury to Fousseyni Traore in a fight back from down 12 to a five-point game at the break.
NC State’s hounding defense disrupted the Cougars as six BYU giveaways in the first five minutes helped the Wolfpack take an early 16-5 lead. BYU was down 20-9 with eight turnovers through the first nine minutes of play when Saunders and Johnson began to make their presence felt.
Saunders came off the bench and immediately knocked down back-to-back transition 3-pointers to put BYU back within single digits at 22-15. Johnson drove to the basket for scores on consecutive possessions, then moments later putback an errant 3-point attempt for a basket off the glass that put BYU within seven at 37-30.
Robinson scored the Cougars’ last five of the half as BYU continued to claw back in the game. Robinson’s first score came on a 3-pointer off a Johnson drive and kickout to the right wing. Moments later, Robinson poked the ball free from his man and took it downcourt for the one-handed slam.
The Cougar defense held the Wolfpack scoreless from the field over the final three minutes of the half and went to the locker room down 43-38. BYU shot 43 percent from the field for the half to NC State’s 44 while both teams knocked down five 3-pointers. Turnovers and free throws were the difference-makers during the opening period. The Wolfpack scored 11 points off nine BYU turnovers and shot 10-of-12 from the free throw line while BYU shot 7-of-14.
Waterman and Robinson led BYU with eight points and three rebounds a-piece followed by six points from both Johnson and Saunders.
Second Half
BYU made it a one-possession game early in the second half with a step-back 3-pointer from Hall and transition dunk from Waterman. Knell heated up from deep and scored consecutive treys to pull BYU within a basket at 53-51. A corner 3-pointer from Waterman moments later brought BYU within one at 55-54 but NC State responded each time and pulled ahead by four with 12 minutes to play.
That lead proved to be the zenith for the Wolfpack with the Cougars turning the corner and riding a wave of momentum the rest of the way.
Johnson got it started for the Cougars as he hit a step-back 3-pointer on the left wing then pushed in transition and found Trey Stewart open in the corner for a triple. With back-to-back 3-pointers BYU took the lead at 66-64, its first since the opening minutes of the game.
Robinson ruled the remainder of the game, beginning with a drive and kick to Hall for a trey followed by a driving lay-in and 3-pointer of his own. The senior sharpshooter scored twice more from the field and went 6-of-6 from the free throw line down the stretch.
Khalifa’s assistance came in handy for BYU late as the big man dished to Knell and Hall for running lay-ins during BYU’s late-game scoring surge. The Cougars’ effectively put the game away with 17-3 run over a five-minute stretch in the second half.
BYU’s run was powered by 70 percent shooting from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range in the half.
BYU remains away from the Marriott Center next week as it faces Fresno State on Dec. 1 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Watch the Cougars and Bulldogs at 7 p.m. MST on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio Sirius XM 143, BYURadio.org/BYU Radio app or KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.