AJ Dybantsa recorded 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead No. 23 BYU to a riveting 79-69 upset over No. 6 Iowa State on Saturday night in Big 12 play at Provo, Utah.
Kennard Davis Jr. scored 17 points for the Cougars (20-7, 8-6), who improved to 11-2 at home. Mihailo Boskovic added a career-best 13 points for BYU.
Tamin Lipsey scored 19 points and Jamarion Batemon added 14 off the bench for Iowa State (23-4, 10-4), which was coming off consecutive Top 10 wins over then-No. 9 Kansas and No. 2 Houston.
Joshua Jefferson added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Cyclones.
It was BYU’s second game since losing standout Richie Saunders to a career-ending ACL tear.
The Cougars shot 50% from the field, including 7 of 25 (28%) from 3-point range. BYU held a resounding 39-28 advantage on the boards.
The Cyclones connected on 42.6% of their attempts and a third of their shots from behind the arc (8 of 24) while leading for less than 4 1/2 minutes.
Lipsey drained a 3-pointer to pull the Cyclones within 57-54 with 7:21 left in the game.
BYU responded with a 10-1 burst. Dybantsa had six points during the run, including two free throws to make it 67-55 with 4:08 remaining.
Davis buried a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 70-57 lead with 3:33 remaining.
Iowa State scored the next six points to creep within seven before Boskovic nailed a corner trey to give BYU a 73-63 advantage with 1:30 left.
With the score 75-65, Lipsey drove for a basket with 1:01 left but Davis made two free throws with 46.7 seconds left to push the lead back to 10.
Keba Keita slammed home a thunderous dunk with 33.6 seconds left to punctuate the upset.
Dybantsa scored 14 first-half points as BYU led 39-30 at the break. Jefferson had seven points in the half for the Cyclones.
Iowa State led 25-24 after a trey by Jefferson with 6:34 left in the half.
BYU responded with nine straight points. Dybantsa hit a 3-pointer as the Cougars led 33-25 with 3:02 to play.
BYU later led by 12 before Batemon’s late trey pulled Iowa State within nine.
