Career nights by Robinson, Waterman guide No. 18 BYU to bounce-back rout over Denver

PROVO — BYU men's basketball bounced back from Saturday's first loss of the season the only way one of the nations top 3-point shooting teams knew how.

Splish, splash.

Jaxson Robinson drained a career-high eight 3-pointers en route to 28 points, and Noah Waterman added 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting with 14 rebounds and three blocks as the 18th-ranked Cougars overwhelmed visiting Denver 90-74 Wednesday night in front of an announced crowd of 13,261 fans at the Marriott Center.

Robinson attempted a single-game program record of 16 3-point attempts off the bench, limiting himself to just three shots from inside the arc on 10-of-19 shooting.

Spencer Johnson supplied 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for BYU (9-1) by limiting the Pioneers to four offensive rebounds before the game's final five minutes and finishing with a 43-34 advantage on the glass.

"It was a good atmosphere, especially after a tough loss last weekend," said Robinson, whose 16 3-point attempts off the bench set a single-game program record. "I feel like the team played great. … I have great teammates, great coaches, that have my back whether the shot is falling or not.

"I'm really blessed to be able to say I have these guys as teammates and coaches. Shots were falling tonight; there are going to be nights where they don't fall, but they have confidence in me to shoot them."

Former Ridgeline High and Utah wing Jaxon Brenchley had 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Tommy Bruner added 15 points for Denver (6-5). The Pioneers' 6-foot-1 leading scorer from Columbia, South Carolina, via USC Upstate and Jacksonville entered the game averaging 24.0 points per contest, but shot just 6-of-18 from the field, including 0-for-6 from deep, under duress from Johnson and Robinson for his second-lowest scoring output of the season.

"We didn't give Spence a lot of help, and we didn't give Jax a lot of help. We just said, you've got to go guard him," BYU coach Mark Pope said. "He's an elite-level scorer, and he's really talented. But I thought the tandem of those guys was elite-level tonight, especially in the first half. It was a good clinic defensively, and that's going to bode well for us when we have 2-3 of those guys who are bigger and longer on the court when we get into league play. Our ability to guard and take assignments like that was great for us."

Waterman had his first career double-double by halftime with 10 opines on 4-of-6 shooting and 11 rebounds four days after shooting 0-of-7 in a 73-69 loss at Utah.

By Wednesday night, both Splash Brothers were back. Unlike in the Cougars' first (and only) true road try of nonconference play, the Cougars felt — well, more like themselves back home.

"I think this game really helped us get back to who we were. The Utah game was kind of slow for us," Waterman said. "I think this will just help us get back to who we were."

Waterman and Robinson combined for 22 points, 11 rebounds and two assists in the first half as BYU held the Pioneers to 33% shooting with seven turnovers, and outrebounded the former Mountain States Athletic Conference rivals 26-15 at the break.

The Cougars held Denver to three field goals in the final 6:57 to turn a 25-16 advantage into a 20-point rout by halftime.

BYU converted on 11-of-17 shots to open the second half, and Robinson dropped his eighth 3-pointer of the game as the Cougars stretched the lead as high as 26 and never looked back.

The Cougars are back home Saturday to host Georgia State in their second of five straight home games. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST on ESPN+.

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