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Waterman catches fire to lead BYU to rout of Arizona State, 5-0 start

S.Wilson3 months ago

BYU wing Spencer Johnson (20) celebrates a bucket with his teammates during na NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023, against Arizona State at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. (BYU Photo)

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

LAS VEGAS — Noah Waterman wasn't cooling off as BYU basketball looked to stay unbeaten to start the 2023-24 season Thursday night.

Not even close.

Waterman had a career-high 24 points and seven rebounds with six 3-pointers as BYU improved to 5-0 with a 77-49 win over Arizona State in the Cougars' opening game of the Vegas Showdown at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Trevin Knell hit three 3-pointers and Richie Saunders added 9 points and five rebounds for BYU, which led by as much as 27 in the second half as Waterman received a loud ovation as he was replaced for the final time by Townsend Tripple with 4:12 remaining.

With a bulging bandage covering his left eye in the second half, Fousseyni Traore added 6 points, nine rebounds and five assists while the Cougars outrebounded the Sun Devils 51-32 .

Jamiya Neal had 13 points and Frankie Collins added 11 points and six rebounds for Arizona State (2-2), which shot just 33.3% from the field.

Spencer Johnson capped a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from a foot in front of the mid-court logo to give the Cougars a 10-7 lead after five minutes. BYU also collected 10 of the first 12 rebounds, and held Arizona State without an offensive board until Bryant Selebangue pulled one down 38 seconds before the horn.

The Sun Devils went more than eight minutes in the first half without a point, but BYU didn't lead by more than six until Waterman drained his second off-balance 3-pointer to cap a 15-2 run with 7:02 left in the half.

The Cougars were just 5-of-16 from 2-point range, but knocked down 6-of-19 from three — including three triples from Waterman for 13 first-half points — en route to a 32-17 halftime advantage.

It's the third time in five games that BYU has held its opponent under 20 points in the first half. But this one went beyond the scoreboard and to the glass.

The Cougars out rebounded ASU 32-16 before the break, holding the Sun Devils to just 29% shooting that included a 1-of-11 mark from 3-point range and 0-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Were it not for seven turnovers and BYU's woeful 31% shooting that included 6-of-19 from deep, it could've been significantly worse.

Shaking off the tryptophan-activating first-half offense, Knell opened the second half with a pair of triples that helped push BYU's lead to 41-24 at the first media timeout.

ASU applied the full-court press, and the Cougars struggled with the increased tempo. But Waterman hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Johnson found Traore inside to push the lead to 49-30 with 13:48 remaining.