AJ Dybantsa exploded for 40 points, Kennard Davis Jr. heated up in the second half with 15 points, and BYU pulled away for a 105-91 victory over Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 tournament on Tuesday night at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
The 10th-seeded Cougars (22-10) will face 7-seed West Virginia in the second round on Wednesday night.
BYU turned a tight game into a rout in the second half. They capped a 12-0 run with a dunk by Khadim Mboup to take a 92-73 lead at the 5:32 mark. That stretch also featured a 3 by Davis, who made four triples in the second half.
After K-State made a layup to end the run, BYU went on another 6-0 spurt. The Cougars then reached the century mark when Dybantsa knocked down a couple of free throws with 3:30 left.
Along with his 40-point performance, Dybantsa also pulled down nine rebounds and dished out six assists. Robert Wright III added 14 points — all scored in the first half — for the Cougars.
K-State (12-20), the 15-seed, was led by P.J. Haggerty’s 27 points. Nate Johnson finished with 19 points, including 14 in the first half, and Khamari McGriff added 13 points.
It was a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair in the first half with K-State shooting 62.1% from the field and BYU shooting 56.8%. The Cougars closed on a 7-0 run, highlighted by consecutive fast-break dunks by Dybantsa, to take a 50-49 lead into the locker room.
BYU opened the second half with consecutive 3s by Aleksej Kostic and Davis to quickly extend its lead to 56-49, and it never trailed the rest of the way.
BYU finished the game shooting 54.8% from the field compared to K-State’s 50.8%.
K-State will shift its attention to its coaching search after its midseason firing of Jerome Tang. Matthew Driscoll served as interim coach, going 2-5 in seven games.
