Richie Saunders hits 5 3s, scores 21 as BYU beats Cincinnati 80-52

Updated Jan. 26, 2025 12:50 a.m. ET

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PROVO, Utah (AP) — Richie Saunders hit 5 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half on Saturday night to help BYU beat Cincinnati 80-52.

Egor Demin finished with 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds for BYU (13-6, 4-4 Big 12) and Dawson Baker added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Simas Lukosius hit a 3-pointer that cut Cincinnati's deficit to five points less than a minute into the second half but Saunders answered with a 3 12 seconds later and added another before Trevin Knell hit from behind the arc to cap a 14-2 run that made it 45-28 and BYU led by double figures for the final 18-plus minutes.

Lukosius led Cincinnati (12-7, 2-6) with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. The rest of the Bearcats players made 18 of 50 (36%) from the field.

Lukosius made a 3-pointer that tied it at 23-all with 1:04 left in the first half but Demin answered with two free throws to give BYU the lead for good before his 3-pointer made it 28-23 at halftime.

The Cougars shot 73.4% (17 of 23) from the field and hit 11 of their 15 3-pointers in the second half. BYU made 28 of 49 (57%) overall and hit 63% from behind the arc.

Cincinnati plays at Utah on Tuesday. BYU also plays Tuesday, when the Cougars play host to Baylor.

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