Baker and Mag help BYU overwhelm Wyoming from the bench at Delta Center

SALT LAKE CITY — BYU’s starting lineup suffered a setback early in a neutral-site game Saturday night.

The Cougars’ bench made up for it.

Dawson Baker and Mawot Mag combined for 22 points off the bench and BYU’s bench outscored Wyoming 37-14, handing the Cowboys their fourth straight loss, 68-49, Saturday night in front of 11,217 fans at the Delta Center.

Trevin Knell scored 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting and three 3-pointers to lead the Cougars (8-2, 0-0 Big 12); and Dallin Hall added four points, four rebounds and a game-high six assists.

Baker scored 11 points – all in the second half – with five rebounds and two assists, leading the former UC Irvine transfer to score in double figures for the third straight time in his BYU career.

Mag scored 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting, including a career-high three three-pointers, while playing 23 minutes, mostly replacing the injured Richie Saunders.

“That was inspiring,” BYU coach Kevin Young said of the Rutgers transfer. “He’s had a tough time here because he’s recovering from an injury and he just hasn’t found the right footing yet. I didn’t give him much opportunity to get back on track, so he had to go through a lot as a guy who played big minutes in a major college basketball program.

“But he had a great attitude and what he did was really inspiring. His defense was great; he took good shots and made them, but the defense was really good. … I think our guys took care of it, and it was a…”really good moment for our team.”

Obi Agbim had a game-high 21 points to lead Wyoming (5-5, 0-1 Mountain West).

Knell scored 7 points as the Cougars hit six of their first eight shots in a 13-4 lead to start the game.

BYU went deep 10 times in the first half and shot 58% en route to a 34-25 halftime lead. The Cougars made 4 of 10 3-pointers, held the Cowboys to 4 of 14 from beyond the arc and scored 12 points off eight turnovers while outrebounding Wyoming 15-10.

Perhaps the only thing BYU failed to do in the first half was Saunders, who fell to the floor after a little more than a minute with a torn lip and blood on his face. Saunders was helped to the locker room by head athletic trainer Rob Ramos and did not return.

His teammates coped well without him in the Cougars’ penultimate non-conference tournament. That includes Mag, the All-Big Ten defensive ace from Melbourne, Australia, and Rutgers, who started in Saunders’ place in the second half.

The 6-foot-7 player used his increased minutes to score his most points with the Scarlet Knights since last February, when he scored 12 and 15 points, respectively, against Wisconsin and Maryland.

Mag attributed his success to “just staying ready,” while Young emphasized his key defensive role for a BYU team that held Wyoming to just 42% shooting in the second half, including 10 of 22 from the field.

It all came together for the BYU freshman transfer on Saturday night.

“I just wanted to come in and play with effort. It doesn’t matter if it was two minutes, a minute or even 30 seconds,” Mag said. “I just came in and worked my ass off to help my team win and did whatever it took . I just tried to come in and have an impact on the game.”

Then there was Knell, who returned to the starting lineup for the second straight season after coming off the bench four straight times.

The graduating senior from North Salt Lake averaged just 9.0 points per game in four straight games against Mississippi Valley State, Ole Miss, North Carolina State and Providence as the Cougars went 2-2 and Knell averaged 18.75 minutes per Game scored in rotation.

Since his return, Knell has scored double-digit points in two straight games and shot three or more three-pointers for the 27th and 28th times in his career – tied for the eighth-most points in program history for a team that played in both games without five-star rookie Egor Demin.

“I think he’ll have a chance whether he’s starting, coming off the bench or on the field,” Young said of Knell. “I think he will have a good chance. I have complete confidence no matter what role he plays.”

“He’s a guy who doesn’t complain a lot, he just does what we ask him to do. Of course it’s nice to see him when he’s in the rhythm, but I wouldn’t necessarily associate that with starting or not starting.”