BYU’s supporting cast took a big step forward against No. 6 Iowa State.

“I think there’s a lot to be said for opportunity and confidence. These guys understand that now that Richie is out, their numbers are going to be called more,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said.

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“…I think it’s a little easier to find a rhythm when you have that mindset, but at the same time, they get all the credit because they stayed ready and they were able to deliver on their promises.”

On Saturday, the tone was set from the jump, as BYU’s first seven points of the contest came from Dybantsa and Wright — Keita catching a lob for a slam dunk, Boskovic hit a 3-pointer and Davis had a layup following an offensive rebound.

“It was good. It definitely improves your confidence, especially because it takes a load off (Dybantsa) and Rob at the start of the game and then it kind of takes the wind back towards the end of the first half,” Boskovic said of the hot start.

In addition, seven of the last eight goals scored by the Cougars in the second half came from this same group, with Mboup.

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Davis finished as BYU’s second leading scorer with 17 points (including three 3-pointers) and also grabbed four offensive rebounds.

At a crucial moment in the second half, he threw down a dunk in transition to prompt an Iowa State timeout and a triple-digit decibel response from the Marriott Center crowd.

“I was surprised he even did that,” Dybantsa said wryly after the match. “That (vertical jump), I didn’t know he had it in him.”

Boskovic, who made his second straight appearance in the starting five replacing Saunders, set a new career high with 13 points and added five rebounds.

“I played my role without the ball, rebounding, defending and shooting. That showed today,” Boskovic said.

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The Serbian senior was rather ineffective earlier in the week against Arizona, missing three early shots and finishing scoreless despite starting.

So, making his first 3-pointer against Iowa State was “major,” as he put it.

Boskovic missed his next six triples before finally sinking another late in the second half, but overall the 5-of-11 shooting night with two long-range hits made for a job well done and plenty of reason to believe he can have similar outings in the future.

“The staff told me to stick to shooting, and towards the end it paid off. It felt good,” Boskovic said.

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Keita, who emerged from a recent slump with an encouraging effort at Arizona, scored nine points with six rebounds, three steals and a block Saturday.

The only bench player to factor into Saturday’s success, Mboup scored five points but grabbed 10 rebounds — nine in the first half alone — while posting a team-best 70.4 defensive rating, meaning Iowa State would score just 70.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the court.

“Khadim is a warrior,” Young said. “He has a knack for rebounding. He’s an incredible rebounder. He’s a very competitive young man. You can’t put statistics on (his) energy and how it permeates the group.”

Young kept saying BYU was reinventing itself to overcome the loss of Saunders. Not only did Saturday’s performance go a long way toward such a chase, it gave the Cougars a new dose of confidence – the value of which cannot be overstated at this point in the season.

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“I think a lot of people wrote us off when Richie went down, and I think that shows everyone that we’re not going to leave, we’re not going anywhere,” Young said on BYU’s postgame radio show. “…Not to sound dramatic, (beating Iowa State) was the most important thing that happened this season, probably since I’ve been the coach here. We needed to win. We needed a moment.

“It’s hard to keep going to the locker room and just telling guys you’re here or you’re right there, to finally be able to push it, open that rock, and now the challenge will be to be able to understand why we were able to do that and then be able to build on that.”