BYU is back in the win column.

The Cougars snapped their three-game losing skid by defeating Oklahoma State 85-69 Tuesday night at the Marriott Center, moving to 11-5 on the season and 2-3 against Big 12 foes.

3 takeaways

BYU allowed the game to become far too complicated. The Cougars opened the night by enjoying arguably their best half of Big 12 play thus far, holding a 20-point advantage at intermission while having led by 27 at one point. It seemed as if the recent struggles for Kevin Young’s squad were on their way out the door.

Not so fast.

BYU faltered early in the second half, allowing a 22-5 Oklahoma State scoring run to cut the Cougars’ lead to just three points. In what should have been a drama-free blowout, BYU was forced to scrap its way back to a 16-point win rather than have the chance to rest some of its key rotation players and find minutes for others.

Typical starter Kanon Catchings — who logged nine minutes at TCU last weekend — was brought off the bench for another limited outing of just seven minutes on the floor.

Count him as one who could have benefitted from some late playing time to get back into a groove, especially with a rivalry clash at Utah looming ahead on Saturday.

The Cougars shot 51.9% from the field and 42.9% from deep, dishing out 18 assists while continuing their turnover woes with 14 giveaways.

The true stat of the night: 38 total fouls called by the referees. The zebras were out and about at the Marriott Center.

An aggressive Egor Demin came alive in the second half. BYU’s slumping freshman was held scoreless for the first 30 minutes of play, only to acquire a noticeable fire down the stretch and score 10 points in a four-minute span.

Demin finished the night with eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks, but perhaps most importantly, a renewed sense of confidence.

He even hit a 3-pointer — a rarity during his current 2 for 27 stretch from long distance.

The Cougars are a much more formidable squad when Demin is at his best, and they’ll need such performances to continue if they want to keep winning Big 12 contests and slip into the NCAA Tournament field in March.

Dallin Hall and his fellow veterans carried much of the load. With Oklahoma State charging back in the second half and cutting the deficit to three points, Hall drilled a 3-pointer with 13:11 remaining to give the Cougars a bit of breathing room.

Fousseyni Traore followed with a layup, with Hall adding another three in transition 60 seconds later.

This was the true turning point of the game. Things could have gone either way once the Cowboys trailed by three, only for two of BYU’s most experienced players to step up and take back control of the contest.

Hall posted a season-high 14 points on a perfect 4 for 4 shooting from the field and three assists. Traore recorded seven points, seven rebounds and three dimes, Trevin Knell and Richie Saunders combined for 30 points and Keba Keita provided a near double-double with 10 points and nine boards.