PROVO, Utah — No. 18 BYU took down the Denver Pioneers 90-74 Wednesday night, fueled by career-high 28 points from Jaxson Robinson and first career double-double by Noah Waterman.
“We have great leadership on this team,” BYU head coach Mark Pope said. “They know what they want to be as a team. There comes a point when you're in a precarious moment and you can either double down on who you are as a team or you could do something different. We can trust us, because us is pretty good. ”
Robinson scored a career-high 28 points, recording eight 3-pointers and shooting 10-of-19 from the field. Scoring 12 points in the first half, the win marks Robinson’s fourth straight game with 10 or more points in the first 20 minutes of play. The senior has hit three or more triples for the 16th time in his career, which is tied for 15th most in program history. He also became the eighth player in BYU records to hit eight or more 3-pointers in a game.
Noah Waterman recorded the first double-double of his career in the first 20 minutes of play, recording 10 points and 11 rebounds in the half. The senior continued to tally up the scoreborad, accruing 20 through the rest of the contest with three dunks. Waterman obtained a career-high 14 rebounds, besting his previous high of eight. He became the first Cougar to record double-digit rebounds in the first half since Gideon George in 2021.
The Cougars shot 50 percent from the field and 32 percent from behind the arc. The team secured a season-high seven blocks, six of them coming in the first half. The BYU bench recorded 45 points, highlighted by Robinson’s 28 with Richie Saunders putting up eight.
First Half
Both teams began the night battling for the first point, each side with a turnover on the first two possessions. The Cougars went 0-of-3 from behind the arc in the opening minutes until Johnson knocked his first 3-pointer of the game off an offensive rebound.
Waterman gave the Cougars some early momentum, recording four rebounds in the first five minutes of play, with a quick five points to his name.
Coming out of the first media timeout, Saunders recorded a quick four points with Robinson downing a shot from behind the arc. Trevin Knell kept the momentum going with pair of free throws to make it 20-10 before Trey Stewart got on the scoresheet with a nifty move around the basket.
BYU continued to knock down shots from deep through the rest of the half, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Robinson. Dallin Hall knocked a shot down from the three to add to the 9-0 scoring run. Waterman showed his versatility with a block on the defensive end followed by a transition 3-pointer.
The Cougars continued to feed Robinson, who nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the opening half from the corner. Waterman finished off his first half double-double with a layup in the final seconds to push the lead to 45-25.
Second Half
Waterman began the second half right where he left off with a dunk on an assist from Aly Khalifa, who would scored on the next possession down with a spin move around the rim. Waterman got a dunk for the second time in the second half followed by Robinson's fifth 3-pointer of the game to make it 56-34.
Johnson turned a defensive rebound into easy points for the Cougars as the senior found Hall in the corner for a 3-pointer. Robinson continued to score points as he went on a personal 5-0 run, knocking down his seventh 3-pointer of the game before connecting a stepback jumper in front of the BYU bench.
The lead continued to grow as Hall got past his defender for a layup, Waterman dunking it for a third time in the second half to make it 84-59. Robinson closed the scoring for the Cougars blowing past two Pioneers for a layup.
The Cougars will remain at home for the second matchup of their five-game homestand to face Georgia State Saturday night. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. MT with coverage available to stream on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ or tune-in for live play-by-play on BYU Radio Sirius XM 143, BYURadio.org/BYU Radio app or KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.