Dallin Hall Leads BYU Basketball to Win Over No. 17 San Diego State
On Friday night, the BYU basketball team took down no. 17 San Diego State 74-65. San Diego State, who is just seven months removed from playing in the national championship game, was the first test of the season for this BYU basketball team. The Cougars passed the test with flying colors.
BYU was led by sophomore point guard Dallin Hall. Hall came off the bench for BYU since he is recovering from a knee injury. Hall was the best player on the floor, especially in clutch moments in the second half. Hall finished with 18 points on 6/13 shooting including 4/8 from three. He also added three rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes on the floor.
Hall was special off the dribble. He created shots for himself throughout the second half, including a three-point shot to extend BYU's lead to nine with two minutes remaining.
Earlier in the second half, BYU led trailed San Diego State 50-48. Hall made a pair of threes in two minutes to give BYU the 54-50 lead. The Cougars never trailed again on their way to the victory.
If Hall can consistently hit shots off the bounce, he will open up everything else for this BYU offense. BYU was +17 when Hall was on the floor and he only played 25 minutes. That was the highest +/- of any player on Friday night.
BYU went through some growing pains last year while they played a lot of young players like Dallin Hall, Richie Saunders, and Fousseyni Traore. Those critical minutes from last year appeared to pay dividends in this game - BYU looked like a much improved, more experienced team.
Four other players scored in double figures against San Diego State. Richie Saunders had 12 points. Foussyeni Traore had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Jaxson Robinson and Spencer Johnson had 12 points and 10 points, respectively.
Credit: BYU Photo
With the win, BYU improved to 2-0 on the season. The Cougars have a pair of home games next week against Southeastern Louisiana and Morgan State before they take on Arizona State in Las Vegas as part of the Vegas Showdown.
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