Johnson's hot start leads No. 19 BYU to 85-56 win over Fresno State

SALT LAKE CITY — Being outed as the oldest player in college basketball didn't seem to faze BYU's Spencer Johnson one bit in the 19th-ranked Cougars' 85-56 win over Fresno State Friday at the Delta Center.

If anything, the designation fueled another impressive performance after Johnson jokingly told the media Thursday it was "a dream come true" to be the oldest player in college basketball. Johnson had 12 of the Cougars' first 19 points and helped them get out to a commanding 36-23 halftime lead.

The American Fork native finished with 22 points, and Jaxson Robinson caught fire in the second half to make six of his first seven 3-pointers in the home of the Utah Jazz. Richie Saunders added 12 points off the bench, and the Cougars simply ran away with their seventh straight win to start the season, marking just the third time since 2000 that BYU has started 7-0.

"Spencer Johnson was ridiculous today," BYU head coach Mark Pope said. "It's really fun to watch him grow. He's in the midst of a really special career."

The commitment to fast-paced play and high-volume shooting didn't skip a beat on the short trip to Salt Lake City, with the Cougars shooting 11-of-29 from 3-point range, compared to just 4-of-12 for the Bulldogs. Pope said the team fell just short of his goal to shoot 30 threes every game, however.

Newcomer Aly Khalifa filled in for injured big man Fouss Traore in the BYU starting lineup and added his unique passing flair with five assists — tied for the team lead with Johnson — including the dime above to Robinson for a first-half buzzer-beater.

"Aly adds another 30% to our offense; it's beautiful actually," Pope said. "I'm really confident he's the best passing 7-footer in the country in college basketball."

Pope called the team's response to changes on defense "masterful" as the Cougars forced 21 turnovers and scored 36 points off of those giveaways. BYU turned it over just seven times after Johnson said the team spent most of the offseason focusing on taking care of the ball.

"We actually had a thing in the offseason where, in practice, if you turn the ball over, the whole team stopped and we'd all have to run," Johnson said. "We got our conditioning in, but it's been paying off."

The Cougars return to the Marriott Center next against Evansville on Dec. 5 before returning to Salt Lake City for a rivalry matchup against Utah at the Huntsman Center on Dec. 9.

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