Spencer Johnson's career night leads No. 20 BYU to romp of No. 24 Iowa State

PROVO — For at least one night in the dog-eat-dog world that is Big 12 men's basketball, Marriott Madness triumphed over Hilton Magic.

In a matchup of two teams with home arenas named for hotel giants, No. 20 BYU pulled away for an 87-72 win over No. 24 Iowa State in front of an announced crowd of 15,491 fans Tuesday night in the Marriott Center.

Spencer Johnson poured in a career-high 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists; and Noah Waterman added 18 points, four rebounds and three assists as the Cougars (14-3, 2-2 Big 12) won back-to-back games in Big 12 play for the first time in the conference newcomers' brief history in the league.

Jaxson Robinson scored 15 points, Richie Saunders had 12 points, two rebounds and two steals, and Aly Khalifa supplied nine rebounds and four assists for a BYU team missing two starters in Trevin Knell (foot) and Fousseyni Traore (hamstring), and played just seven players until the final two minutes.

But the Cougars had Johnson, the 6-foot-5 floor general from American Fork by way of Salt Lake Community College who earned ESPN acclaim (and some good-natured ribbing from teammates and coaches) earlier this season as one of the oldest college basketball players in the country.

"It felt really good. It felt good to get it on a win, too," said Johnson, who is also due to be a first-time father in a month with his wife, Izzy. "A team like that, Big 12, conference play; it's a credit to our schemes, to my teammates, to coach. It just felt really good to do that and to get a big win like that."

Dallin Hall had 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds with three turnovers, his sixth game in seven outings with as few giveaways.

Keshon Gilbert had 16 points and four rebounds to lead Iowa State (13-4, 2-2 Big 12), and Milan Momcilovic added 11 points for the Cyclones a week after a 57-53 home win over No. 5 Houston that handed the Cougars their first loss of the season.

Not these Cougars on this night, though — thanks in large part to Johnson.

"That boy is a killer," said Waterman, who shot 4-of-12 from the field, 3-of-8 from three, and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. "He had 28, and should've had 30. But that's alright, next game. Overall, it was a great team win."

Killer or not, Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger may agree after a "phenomenal night" by the senior who had five of the Cougars' 21 assists on 27 made field goals (with 11 turnovers to the Cyclones' 13).

"The first half, he was terrific and then carried it forward in the second," Otzelberger said. "A guy like that, you know he is capable of those kinds of nights. They did a good job finding him, and we didn't disrupt and do things we needed."

Two of the eight Big 12 teams in the Associated Press Top 25, and two of the top-10 teams in the NET ratings, exchanged the lead 10 times in the first half. But neither team led by more than 4 points until Robinson drained a deep 3-pointer with 3:21 on the clock in the first half for a 32-26 advantage.

Iowa State shot 54% from the field before the break, but Johnson totaled a career-best 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting with three 3-pointers and four rebounds to lift the Cougars to a 39-35 halftime advantage.

The Cyclones hit just 1-of-7 from the field to open the second half, and 3-of-12 through nearly eight minutes. BYU, meanwhile, couldn't miss — including a pair of 3-pointers from NBA range by Hall that lifted the Cougars to a 56-45 advantage with 12:33 to go.

Iowa State scarcely threatened again — except, perhaps, for Hason Ward's arm that threatened Saunders' jaw while battling for a rebound on a free throw that ended up seeing the senior forward from Barbados ejected with a flagrant-2 foul with 10:34 remaining.

By then, the Cyclones trailed 61-48, and Saunders helped put the game away for good with 5 points during a 10-0 run to push the lead to 23 with 2:53 remaining.

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