AJ Dybantsa scored 21 points in his college basketball debut — including 13 in the second half — to lead No. 8 BYU to a 71-66 victory over Villanova in Las Vegas on Monday night in the teams’ season opener.

Richie Saunders finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and Robert Wright III added 14 points for the Cougars. BYU scored 17 points off 11 turnovers and outscored the Wildcats 40-24 in the paint.

Bryce Lindsay led the Wildcats with 22 points and Duke Brennan added 15 rebounds. Villanova outscored BYU 31-10 in second-chance points but managed just two baskets over the final six minutes.

Villanova trailed by as many as 14 in the second half before rallying. Lindsay fueled the rally with five baskets over a nine-minute stretch. He tied it on a 3-pointer and then gave the Wildcats their first lead at 56-55 on a second-chance 3.

BYU countered with a 10-0 run, sparked by back-to-back baskets from Keba Keita and Dybantsa, and went up 67-59 with 1:50 left.

Dybantsa, who made 9 of 18 shots from the floor and added six rebounds, punctuated an 8-0 run with back-to-back baskets to give BYU an early 16-8 lead.

Villanova kept it close early by getting second-chance baskets, with 16 second-chance points in the first half. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 19-15 on a jumper from Tafara Gapare.

BYU answered with a 7-0 run fueled by a 3-pointer from Kennard Davis Jr. Villanova twice cut the deficit to six before halftime, but Davis buried a corner three to put the Cougars up 42-32 going into the locker room.

Layups from Saunders and Dybantsa pushed BYU’s lead to 46-32 early in the second half.

–Field Level Media