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Jeff Borzello
New York — Kevin Young arrives BYUThere was a simple message in the locker room at halftime of Tuesday night’s game: CLEMSON Playing louder than us.
The Cougars have become accustomed to second-half surges this season, but allowing a 21-0 run to end the first half and trailing by that margin at the break felt like a steep hill to climb.
“The look in their eyes went wide,” Young said of his team’s reaction. “I thought we were empty and a little lifeless in the first half. I challenged the guys to come in with more competitive spirit.”
No. 10 BYU produced the largest second-half comeback in program history, erasing a 22-point deficit to defeat Clemson. 67-64with guard Robert Wright III Hitting the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
While Wright’s shot was the biggest of the game—and of BYU’s season so far—the star freshman doubled on Tuesday AJ DiBantsaStatement display. The No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025, Dyabantsa is in the conversation for the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft, but he has yet to perform on par with fellow new stars cameron boozer Or Caleb Wilson,
Against Clemson, DiBantsa finished with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists while going 9 of 17 from the field. His second half itself was eye-opening: 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and according to ESPN Research, he scored or assisted on 34 of BYU’s 45 points.
“They weren’t doubling down,” Dybantsa said. “I’m confident in my one-on-one ability, and they decided not to double the second half. So I picked my spots more wisely, not trying to fade too much.”
DiBantsa showed glimpses of what happened Tuesday night, including his performances in late games against Villanova and UConn last month. But this was clearly his best game as a college player, and one of the best freshmen we’ve seen at Madison Square Garden in some time.
To put DiBantsa’s second half into more perspective: He had more points and more assists after halftime than the entire Clemson team, according to ESPN Research. They also shot 7 of 11 from the field compared to 7 of 27 for Clemson as a team.
“One thing about AJ is that he works well, he’s a really fast processor,” Young said. “So I thought in the second half he made the necessary adjustments where he was able to get into his spots a little bit more and then the game opened up from that standpoint.”
Clemson (7-3) looked poised to run away with the game in the first half, ending the period with a 21-0 run to break a 22-22 deadlock, holding BYU (8-1) without a point for the final 6:59. The Tigers scored the first points of the second half on a free throw, increasing the lead to 22.
BYU went on a 12–0 run to stop Clemson’s momentum, with DiBantsa getting involved quickly on every possession. He started the game aggressively, even when his shot was not falling, but once he was able to score some early points in the second half, Clemson had no answers, and the freshman was able to completely dominate.
Had five straight points during a 12-0 run, seven straight points midway through the half, and then had a stretch in which he drew the attention of the Clemson defense on multiple possessions in a row and passed Keba Kita For a strong finish.
“I think in the first half he was doing a lot of getting to the baseline, falling,” Young said. “He does a great job when he gets to the middle, and we have a little thing, just pick a spot. That was something I learned when I coached good players in the NBA. Just pick a spot and you’re either going to make it or miss it. He was able to get to his spot tonight.”
Despite Dyabantsa’s second-half heroics, the biggest shot of the game went to Wright. The Baylor transfer struggled in the first half but was far more productive after halftime, posting 12 points and two assists. Wright’s two free throws cut BYU’s lead to five with 26 seconds remaining, but Clemson tied it. dillon hunter Layup with 5.2 seconds to go.
Wright advanced the inbounds pass to half court before calling timeout, allowing Young to make the game winner.
“AJ wasn’t open, he was being double-teamed, so I told [Mihailo Boakovic] I’d come back to the ball, and they trusted me and passed the ball to me,” Wright said. “It’s an unreal feeling.”
Dyabantsa said: “You have to trust your teammates. It doesn’t matter if I scored 50 in that game, whoever is open is going to get the ball, that’s the kind of trust we have in our team.”
