by Joe Oliver
Nationally ranked BYU (#21) hosted Kansas State in the Marriott Center and won 72-66. The Wildcats turned over the ball nearly 3:1 and committed 5 more fouls than BYU. The Cougars struggled from the line, converting a mere 10-21 free throws. Kansas State managed to make 10-12 on their foul shots.
Coming off the bench, Fousseyni Traore led the Cougars with 14 points and eight rebounds on 20 minutes of play. Jaxson Robinson and Spencer Johnson each had 12 points.
Kansas State was down 36-27 at the half. Going into the second half they fell behind by as many as 18 points. They rallied to within two points after a 16-2 run, capped off by a three-pointer from junior forward Arthur Kaluma. There was just over a minute to go in regulation. After a timeout, Jaxson Robinson came back into the game and drilled a three, pushing the Cougars’ lead to five (69-64) with 51 seconds remaining. Kaluma finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists to lead the Wildcats just shy of victory. Kansas State guard Cam Carter had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists as well.
The #21 Cougars held on to the lead and the game ended with BYU on top. Total attendance was 17,446.
Joe Oliver has two bachelor’s degrees from Southern Utah University. He dabbled in photography while working for the State of Utah for 15 years before making the leap into photojournalism full time in 2020. He loves spending time with his 3 children, photographing concerts, sports and other live events, and traveling! He has covered college and pro sports since 2019.
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