Dybantsa, Wright fuel huge BYU rally vs. Clemson

NEW YORK — Kevin Young walked into BYU‘s locker room at halftime of Tuesday night’s game and had a simple message: Clemson is playing harder 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 steeper hill to climb.

“The look in their eye got different,” Young said of his team’s reaction. “I thought we were blank and a little lifeless in the first half. I challenged the guys to come out with more of a competitive spirit.”

No. 10 BYU responded with the largest second-half comeback in program history, erasing a 22-point deficit to beat Clemson, 67-64, with 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 — Tuesday doubled as star freshman AJ Dybantsa‘s statement performance. The No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025, Dybantsa is in the conversation for the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, but he had yet to have a performance along the lines of fellow freshman stars Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson.

Against Clemson, Dybantsa finished with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, going 9-for-17 from the field. His second half alone was eye-opening: 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and he scored or assisted on 34 of BYU’s 45 points, per ESPN Research.

“They weren’t doubling,” Dybantsa said. “I have trust in my one-on-one ability, and they decided not to double the second half. So I kind of just picked my spots smarter, not trying to fade as much.”

Dybantsa had shown flashes of what transpired Tuesday night, including his performances late in games against Villanova and UConn last month. But this was clearly his best game as a college player, and one of the best freshman performances seen at Madison Square Garden in some time.

To put Dybantsa’s second half into further perspective: He had more points and more assists than Clemson’s entire team after halftime, according to ESPN Research. He also shot 7-for-11 from the field compared to Clemson’s 7-for-27 as a team.

“One thing about AJ that he does a good job of, he really is a very fast processor,” Young said. “So I thought in the second half he made the needed adjustments where he could get to his spots a little bit more and then the game kind of opened up from that standpoint.”

Clemson (7-3) looked set to run away with the game in the first half, breaking open a 22-22 deadlock with the 21-0 run to end the period, holding BYU (8-1) without a point for the final 6:59. The Tigers scored the first point of the second half on a free throw to extend the lead to 22.

BYU went on a 12-0 run to stop Clemson’s momentum, with Dybantsa becoming increasingly more involved with every possession. He started the game aggressively, even when his shot wasn’t falling, but once he was able to get a couple of early points in the second half, Clemson had no answer, and the freshman was able to completely take over.

There were five straight points during the 12-0 run, there were seven straight points midway through the half, and then there was a stretch in which he drew the attention of the Clemson defense on multiple possessions in a row and passed to Keba Keita for thunderous finishes.

“I think in the first half he was doing a lot of stuff towards the baseline, falling away,” Young said. “He does a great job when he gets middle, and we have a little saying, just pick a spot. That was something I learned in the NBA coaching really good players. Just pick a spot and you’re either going to make it or miss it. He was able to get to his spots tonight.”

Despite Dybantsa’s second-half heroics, the game’s biggest shot went to Wright. The Baylor transfer struggled in the first half but was far more productive after halftime, posting 12 points and two assists. Two Wright free throws pushed BYU’s lead to five with 26 seconds left, but Clemson tied it on a Dillon Hunter layup with 5.2 seconds to go.

Wright advanced the inbounds pass to half court before calling timeout, with Young drawing up the game winner.

“AJ wasn’t open, he was being double-teamed, so I told [Mihailo Boakovic] I’ll be coming back to the ball, and he just trusted in me and passed it to me,” Wright said. “It’s a surreal feeling.”

Dybantsa added: “You got to trust in your teammates. It doesn’t matter if I had 50 that game, whoever’s open is going to get the ball, that’s the kind of trust we have in our team.”