BYU Bounces Back, Beats Pepperdine

After a gutting loss to Gonzaga, BYU bounced back with a 91-81 win over Pepperdine Saturday night in Provo. Six BYU players scored in double figures, led by 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks from Fousseyni Traore. After not getting much bench production versus Gonzaga, BYU got 13 points from Richie Saunders and 11 points from Atiki Ally Atiki. Dallin Hall, Richie Saunders, and Spencer Johnson rounded out the double-figure scorers.

Pepperdine was top 10 nationally in tempo coming into the night and the game proved to be a track meet. BYU shot 51% from the floor compared to Pepperdine’s 52%, but the Cougars won the rebounding battle 41-23. BYU also shot 25-32 from the foul line compared to 18 foul shots for the Waves.

With the win, BYU moves to 14-7 on the season and 4-2 in WCC play. BYU next hits the bay area for a big road swing at Santa Clara and San Francisco. Santa Clara may be the third best team in the WCC and San Francisco is a dangerous team and one of the top teams in the conference.