PROVO, Utah — Spencer Johnson scored a career-high 28 points to lead No. 20 BYU to a 87-72 victory over No. 24 Iowa State on Tuesday night.
Johnson shot 62% from the field and also had nine rebounds and five assists. Noah Waterman added 18 points and Jaxson Robinson chipped in 15 for the Cougars.
Dallin Hall tallied 11 points and a team-high eight assists to help BYU (14-3, 2-2 Big 12) beat Iowa State for the first time in seven meetings between the schools.
Keshon Gilbert led the Cyclones with 16 points and Milan Momcilovic added 11 points. Iowa State (13-4, 2-2) shot just 36% from the field in the second half and committed 13 turnovers, leading to 17 points for BYU.
The Cougars had a 21-8 edge in fastbreak points and made 13 3-pointers.
Johnson scored six baskets and had 19 points before halftime. His final first-half basket, a transition 3-pointer from the top of the key, gave the Cougars a 37-30 lead. The senior guard accounted for 50% of BYU’s field goals over the first 20 minutes.
The Cyclones connected on 54% of their first-half field goal attempts but started flat in the second half, missing six straight shots over a 4 1/2-minute stretch before Robert Jones and Gilbert made back-to-back baskets to end the drought.
BYU seized the opportunity to pull away. The Cougars ripped off a 14-5 run, highlighted by Johnson's layup off a steal and a corner 3, to extend the lead to 70-52 with 8:19 left.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State struggled to get anything going on offense after halftime. The Cyclones made six baskets through the first 14 minutes of the second half and went 0 of 6 from 3-point range in that stretch.
BYU made a point of consistently attacking the rim and getting to the free-throw line rather than simply settling for 3-pointers on numerous possessions. It paid off for the Cougars, who went 20 of 24 from the line.
UP NEXT
Iowa State visits TCU on Saturday.
BYU visits Texas Tech on Saturday night.