- AJ Dybantsa scored a career-high 35 points leading BYU to an 85-67 win.
- Richie Saunders added 21 points as BYU shot over 70% in the second half.
- BYU's coach praised Dybantsa's performance calling him a gifted player.
PROVO — It was 47 degrees outside the Marriott Center, but AJ Dybantsa was just heating up Friday night.
Dybantsa poured in a career-high 35 points, six rebounds and four assists — including 17-of-20 from the free-throw line — as the 10th-ranked Cougars improved to 11-1 with an 85-67 win over Abilene Christian.
Richie Saunders added 21 points, three rebounds, three steals and three assists for the Cougars, who shot better than 70% in the second half. Robert Wright II scored 10 points to go with two rebounds and two assists.
But Friday night's finals-week tilt was about Dybantsa, who became the first BYU freshman to top 30 points in a game since Matt Carlino in 2012.
"What a gifted player, man," BYU coach Kevin Young quipped of his multi-million dollar star. "That was unbelievable."
With a late change to the starting lineup due to Keba Keita being sick, Dybantsa flashed the style and substance that has sent him surging up NBA draft boards since his freshman year in Brockton, Massachusetts.
The 6-foot-7 jumbo wing who reclassified up to the 2025 recruiting class shot 0-for-2 from 3-point range, but quickly adjusted to finish 9-of-12 from inside the arc and got to the rim to finish 17-of-20 in free throws for a game-high plus-18.
"That's how that team plays: they're super aggressive, and they foul a lot," Young said of Abilene Christain, giving the Wildcats plenty of credit. "They're a hard team to play against because of it. But AJ's a smart player; he understood what they were doing, and he did a good job of using that against them."
Former Wasatch Academy guard Cbo Newton poured in a career-high 23 to lead Abilene Christian (7-5).
Saunders scored 7 of the Cougars' first 9 points until Wright found space midway through the first half.
Wright capped an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer with 8:15 left that gave BYU its first lead of the game. And that's about when Dybantsa got going.
The five-star freshman had 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the first half, including 9 points in the final 9 minutes. Dybantsa scored 7 points during a 12-5 run to wrestle back control late in the half, including a ridiculous hammer with less than three minutes on the clock en route to a 43-36 halftime advantage.
The highlight-reel putback was instantly the talk of the internet, and one that even Dybantsa himself said he'd put in his "top-seven" all-time. At the very least, it's the best putback jam he's had since a similar dunk last year during his final season at Utah Prep.
"That was probably the best putback I've had," he said.
His teammates and coaches were a bit more impressed, including BYU football coach Kalani Sitake, who stood up from his courtside seat in utter disbelief at the athletic slam.
"That was amazing," Saunders said.
Added Young: "I'll be honest: I'm pretty stoic over there when cool stuff happens because you're thinking about the next play and I feel like I've seen a lot of cool plays in my life. But I did react to that one; that was insane."
BYU ran the lead as high as 12 on another impressive dunk by Dybantsa just over five minutes into the second half.
Newton, the former Wasatch Academy scoring threat who transferred from Grambling State, capped a 10-0 run to pull the Wildcats within two, 54-52, with 11:47 remaining.
But BYU responded with a 12-0 run of its own, including a fastbreak dunk by Saunders that pushed the lead back to double digits three minutes later and the Wildcats never threatened again.
But Dybantsa — for his athleticism, scoring and ability to get to the free-throw line — was more impressed by that dunk from Saunders.
"He's not a believer," the senior deadpanned of his teenage teammate.
Dybantsa quickly explained himself.
"Richie doesn't dunk in practice," he said. "I said the same thing about Dawson (Baker); when he gets in the game, he drives and looks like he's going to lay it up but just goes up with two hands.
"I didn't know he had that in him," he added with a smile.
BYU wraps up nonconference play Monday against Eastern Washington. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST.
