PROVO ā Maybe Trevin Knell’s 3-pointer less than 15 seconds into BYU’s Big 12 Tournament opener Thursday was a harbinger of things to come.
Perhaps so, too, was Iowa State’s Curtis Jones, who poured in a Big 12 Tournament single-game record seven 3-pointers en route to a game-high 31 points.
Both teams combined for 31 3-pointers, setting a record for the most in a Big 12 game in conference history.
None were bigger than Richie Saunders’ triple from the left elbow to give the Cougars a 92-88 advantage with 48 seconds remaining, though.
Saunders had 23 points to go with a career-high five assists, and Knell added 14 points on four 3-pointers, to help BYU hold off the Cyclones for the second time in nine days in a 96-92 win in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 conference tournament Thursday at the T-Mobile Center.
Fouseyni Traore supplied 15 points and Mihailo Boskkovic 10 points and five rebounds off the bench for BYU, which drained 18 3-pointers ā the most in a single game in Big 12 Tournament history.
The most combined 3-pointers in Big 12 Tournament history was previously 27 set by Texas and Kansas back in 2008.
The Cougars and Cyclones hit that number when Boskovic spotted up for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with 9:41 left, which put BYU up 75-72. But Nate Heise responded just 32 seconds later with a 3-pointer of his own to tie and keep the game tight down the stretch.
Keba Keita had 9 points, 10 rebounds and a block for the Cougars, who won their ninth straight game to advance to face the winner of top-seeded Houston and 16th-seeded Colorado in Friday’s semifinals.
In a game that threatened the Big 12’s all-time tournament scoring record, set barely 16 hours previously in Kansas’ 98-94 win over UCF in overtime, the Cougars’ offense kept the higher seed afloat.
Jones gave the Cyclones their first lead on a 3-pointer with 6:24 left in the half, and then converted another off an immediate turnover to cap a 9-0 spurt in just 49 seconds.
The 6-foot-4 senior from Minneapolis helped Iowa State shoot 60.6% from the field and 10-of-17 from 3-point range, turning a 10-point deficit into a 10-point lead with 3:08 left in the half en route to a 53-49 halftime advantage.
Iowa State had three players in double digits by halftime, including 10 points apiece from Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson.
Knell and Traore each scored 11 in the first half for the Cougars, who shot 10-of-21 from deep before the break.
This story will be updated.