Richie Saunders scores 25, BYU beats Colorado 83-67

BOULDER, Colo. -- — Richie Saunders scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting and Trevin Knell added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, to help BYU beat Colorado 83-67 on Tuesday night.

Mawot Mag scored 11 points for BYU (12-6, 3-4 Big 12). Egor Demin made 4 of 7 from the field and finished with eight points, seven assists, four steals and two blocks.

BYU scored 23 of the first 25 second-half points, including three 3s by Trevin Knell, to take a 61-38 lead when Demin stole a pass and went for a dunk less than six minutes into the period. Neither team scored again until Trevor Baskin made a layup almost two minutes later to snap a string of 16 consecutive missed field-goal attempts by the Buffaloes over a span of 13 minutes, 34 seconds.

Colorado (9-9) is 0-7 in conference play for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when the Buffaloes lost their first seven Pac-12 Conference games.

Julian Hammond III, who finished with 17 points, hit 3-pointers 51 seconds apart in a 14-0 run that gave Colorado a 10-point lead when Diop made two free throws with 5:44 left in the first half. Saunders scored the next seven points to spark a 16-4 run that gave the Cougars a 38-36 lead at halftime.

BYU shot 58% (31 of 53) from the field and made 11 of 24 (47%) from 3-point range.

BYU returns home to play Saturday against Cincinnati. Colorado heads south to play Arizona on Saturday.

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