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PROVO — Make that BYU 2, state of North Carolina 0 on Friday night.
Much like its women's soccer counterparts 370 miles away, BYU men's basketball was on the comeback.
Jaxson Robinson poured in a career-high 23 points and four rebounds, Noah Waterman added 15 points and six boards, and five BYU players scored in double figures in rallying by North Carolina State 95-86 Friday night in the championship game of the Vegas Showdown at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.
Trevin Knell supplied 13 points and five rebounds, and Dallin Hall had 13 points, three rebounds and three assists for BYU (6-0). Spencer Johnson added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Cougars, who used a 17-3 run en route to 53 second-half points and outrebounded North Carolina State 39-30 in the win.
"Jaxson was incredible, and I'm so proud of him," BYU coach Mark Pope told BYU Radio. "He's our leading scorer, but he didn't care; he just wants to help this team. Boy, did he deliver tonight in an epic fashion, as a playmaker, on ball screens, and of course making buckets."
It's the Cougars' first multi-team event championship since the South Padre Invitational in 2010.
"It's nothing new for us; we know what we're capable of, and we know what we can do," Robinson said. "It's just a matter of showing the world what we can do. … This was a step in the right direction."
Casey Morsell posted a career-high 28 points to go along with six rebounds for North Carolina State (4-1), which rated No. 56 in KenPom prior to Friday's tip.
With BYU down two post players in Fousseyni Traore — who exited with an injury just seven minutes in — and Atiki Ally Atiki — suspended due to his role in a physical altercation during the Cougars' 77-49 win Thursday night over Arizona State — NC State led by as much as 12 in the first half.
"It was a dogfight on the court, back and forth the entire game," Robinson said. "But we just stuck with what we had going, and made sure we didn't lose our fight, our toughness, and things like that. … There were a lot of outside distracts, and we just had to make sure we were all locked in."
With Charlotte transfer Aly Khalifa playing the most extended minutes of his BYU career — he finished with 5 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes — the Cougars mounted a charge, creeping within 43-38 at halftime after the Wolfpack led by as many as 12 points before the break.
"He came in and was big for us, a plus-minus of 18," Robinson said. "He helps us so much when he's in the game. We want to make sure when he's in the game that we're cutting to the basket, because he's going to find us."
Waterman's second 3-pointer with 14:42 remaining pulled the Cougars within one, 55-54, and Hall did it again moments later, 59-58, on an up-and-in with 13:13 to go. Back-to-back 3-pointers with 10:06 to play by Johnson and Trey Stewart gave the Cougars their first lead since 3-2 with a 66-64 edge.
Robinson paced an 8-0 run with a tough shot at the rim, a dish to Hall, and a stepback 3-pointer with 6:01 remaining to push the Cougars to their largest lead of the game 74-69.
Just under three minutes later, Knell capped a 15-3 spurt to stretch BYU's lead to 81-72 — the Cougars' 14th 3-pointer of the night — and Khalifa's tip-back bucket stretched the lead to 11 in the final three minutes as BYU salted the game away and improved to No. 10 in KenPom.
The Cougars return to the state of Utah on Friday, Dec. 1, to host Fresno State at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
