PROVO, Utah (AP) — Robert Wright III had 21 points and six assists, No. 23 BYU drained 17 3-pointers and the Cougars beat Queens 98-82 on Tuesday night.

Bruce Branch III added 15 points and six rebounds for BYU (3-0). Jaxon Kohler and Nate Pickens also scored 15 apiece and Collin Chandler added 12 points and a career-high four blocks. Five Cougars have scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time in 13 years.

Wright made 8 of 18 from the field and 2 of 6 from the 3-point range. The junior guard scored 11 points with five assists in the first half, and BYU hit 12 first-half 3s to take a 54-42 lead at the break.

Queens got 19 points from its bench in the first half and used an 18-2 run bridging the first and second halves to trim a 22-point deficit as low as six.

Reserve Caleb Jones scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half and Rickey Ballard also had 18 points for the Royals (2-2). Avantae Parker had 16 points and eight rebounds and Nasir Mann added 14 points and seven assists.

Kohler scored nine points in the second half, hitting three 3-pointers to go with eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks as the Cougars outscored the Royals 36-24 in the paint to pull away.

Up Next

Queens: Hosts Wofford on Saturday.

BYU: Hosts Montana State on Thursday.

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