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12/10 00:05 CST Wright hits winning 3 at buzzer and Dybantsa scores 28 as No.
10 BYU rallies past Clemson 67-64
Wright hits winning 3 at buzzer and Dybantsa scores 28 as No. 10 BYU rallies
past Clemson 67-64
By LARRY FLEISHER
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) --- Robert Wright III made a 3-pointer as time expired after AJ
Dybantsa scored 22 of his season-high 28 points in the second half, and No. 10
BYU stormed back from a 22-point deficit to beat Clemson 67-64 on Tuesday night
in the Jimmy V Classic.
The Cougars (8-1) lost a six-point lead in the final 70 seconds but completed
the comeback when Wright took an inbounds pass from Mihailo Boskovic and sank a
long 3 from the right side.
Clemson scored 21 straight points over the last 6:45 of the first half to build
a 43-22 cushion at halftime. But after trailing 44-22 with 18 1/2 minutes
remaining, BYU pulled off the largest second-half comeback in school history.
Dybantsa surpassed his previous high of 25 in the Cougars' two-point loss to
UConn on Nov. 15 in Boston. The freshman sensation shot 9 for 17 and grabbed
nine rebounds to go with six assists. He highlighted the biggest night of his
college career so far with a one-handed dunk from the middle of the lane that
put BYU up 62-56 with 1:10 left.
After his thunderous slam, Clemson rallied, and a layup by Dillon Hunter tied
it at 64 with 5 seconds remaining.
Wright added 17 points and Keba Keita had 10 with four dunks, including a slam
that led to an uneven rim and caused a nearly 20-minute delay with 11:40 left
and BYU trailing by nine.
Jestin Porter paced Clemson (7-3) with 17 points but the Tigers were outscored
45-21 in the second half. RJ Godfrey added 13 and Efrem Johnson had 10 as
Clemson shot 36.2% overall, including 25.9% after halftime.
BYU shot 40.3% and overcame an off night from Richie Saunders, who was held to
five points. Saunders shot 2 for 11 and missed all seven 3-point tries.
Dybantsa was 2 for 6 in the first half, but the forward hit an array of
difficult shots to fuel the comeback.
After there were eight ties in the opening 13 minutes, Porter sparked Clemson's
big run --- including one shot that rolled in as the shot clock expired.
Up next Clemson: Hosts Mercer on Saturday. BYU: Hosts UC Riverside on Saturday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball |
