No. 17 BYU sets Big 12 tourney record with 18 3s, rallies past No. 12 Iowa St 96-92 in quarterfinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Richie Saunders scored 23 points, hitting a crucial 3-pointer with less than a minute to go, and No. 17 BYU overcame a big game from Curtis Jones in a 96-92 victory over No. 12 Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday.

Fousseyni Traore added 15 points and Trevin Knell had 14 for the fourth-seeded Cougars (24-8), who went 18 of 36 from beyond the arc to set a tournament record for made 3-pointers, and advanced to play No. 2 Houston or Colorado in the semifinals.

Jones hit seven 3s of his own and scored 31 points, and Milan Momcilovic had 18 for the short-handed Cyclones (24-9), who had won their last four games at the Big 12 tourney, including their run to the championship a year ago.

No. 5 seed Iowa State played without Keshon Gilbert, their second-leading scorer and top distributor, and point guard Tamin Lipsey, who had started all 101 games he had played in his career. Gilbert tried to play through a muscle strain against Cincinnati but went only 11 minutes, while Lipsey strained his groin in the closing minutes of the second-round win.

BYU was without Kanon Catchings, who missed his third consecutive game after hurting his knee against West Virginia.

The Cougars and Cyclones nevertheless picked up where they left off last week, when BYU ruined senior day at Iowa State in a double-overtime thriller. They raced up and down the floor, combined to hit 20 first-half 3-pointers, and Jones poured in 22 points — and hit eight straight shots at one point — to help the Cyclones to a 53-49 lead at the break.

The Cougars still trailed 72-64 with 12 1/2 minutes to go when they went on an 11-0 run, and Mihailo Boskovic's 3-pointer gave them a 75-72 lead. Iowa State tied the game again moments later but was never able to regain the lead.

BYU finished it off in the final minute from the foul line, where it was 18 of 21 for the game.

Takeaways

Iowa State was cautious with its two star guards in the hopes that they can be healthy for the NCAA Tournament. Gilbert was ruled out early and watched in street clothes while Lipsey tried to warm up but never entered the game.

BYU committed 29 turnovers when it beat Iowa State last week. It had only 10 in the quarterfinal rematch.

Key moment

Saunders hit his third 3-pointer with 49.1 seconds left to give BYU a 92-88 lead. Momcilovic missed at the other end, and the Cougars were able to control the game the rest of the way.

Key stats

The teams combined for 31 3-pointers, which also set a Big 12 Tournament record.

Up next

BYU plays Friday night for a spot in the championship game.

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This story has been corrected to show the final score was 96-92.

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