Huge second half powers No. 7 BYU over Delaware

Robert Wright III and Richie Saunders each scored 26 points to help No. 7 BYU pull away for an 85-68 victory over Delaware in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday night.

Wright added nine assists and nine rebounds for the Cougars. Saunders chipped in 10 rebounds and made six 3-pointers, while AJ Dybantsa tallied 18 points and seven rebounds.

BYU (3-0) finished with a 46-25 advantage on the glass and scored 23 points off of 19 offensive rebounds.

Christian Bliss and Macon Emory led the Blue Hens with 18 points apiece. Delaware (0-3) led by as many as 13 points in the first half before the Cougars rallied in the second half.

The Cougars struggled to find any rhythm from the perimeter before halftime, missing their first 11 shots from 3-point range to go 1-of-12 from long distance. Wright provided the lone outside basket with 2:50 left in the first half.

It ended up being a much different story after halftime.

BYU shot 11-of-20 from the perimeter and outscored Delaware 51-31 in the second half.

The Cougars finally pulled ahead for good when Saunders and Wright made back-to-back 3-pointers to put BYU up 51-48.

Back-to-back dunks from Dybantsa and three 3-pointers from Saunders highlighted a 20-5 run that extended BYU's lead to 73-57 with 7:19 left.

Delaware opened the game with 10 unanswered points and carved out a 17-4 lead after six minutes. Emory and Jameel Brown got the run going by scoring back-to-back baskets at the rim within the first 19 seconds.

BYU chipped away at the deficit and cut it to 19-15 on back-to-back layups from Dybantsa and Wright. The Blue Hens countered with an 8-0 run and pushed the lead to 27-15 on a 3-pointer from Bliss.

BYU was able to trim the deficit to a basket, cutting Delaware's lead to 37-34 at halftime.