Incredible angle of Kennard Davis' huge dunk vs Iowa St will give you goosebumps

BYU basketball, and most specifically transfer guard Kennard Davis Jr., really needed a win against top-10 Iowa State on Saturday. The tragic nature of this need, however, was that there was very little reason to expect the sputtering Cougar engine to push itself over a cliff face as steep as TJ Otzelberger's Cyclones posed.

Davis, a player who was brought on as a starting guard from Southern Illinois, hoped to add critical 3-and-D support to a BYU basketball team crouching to leap into the highest level of collegiate programs in the nation. Playing "fourth Beatle" behind Dybantsa, Wright, and Saunders, Davis understood his role.

But as Big 12 play tipped off and the competition stiffened, Davis' three-point shot fell comepletely worthless, tanking his season average well below 30% from beyond the arc.

Not an ideal turn of luck for a player recruited to hit shots.

Sure, his defensive ability remained stout as he patrolled the perimeter, but as his team was hit with one season-ending injury after another, the losses began to pile up. Handling the bottom half of the Big 12 Conference, but hitting a wall against the teams ahead of them in the ladder, the Cougars seemed doomed to tread water before inevitably drowning at the NCAA Tournament in March.

That was, of course, before Davis' 17-point eruption against one of the toughest defenses in college basketball.

Iowa State plays physical, aggressive, and assignment-sound defense. Scrappy and frustrating, the Cyclones thrive on causing havoc for their opposition's offense. Ironic how it was against ISU that Davis' scoring punch finally bloomed.

Hitting timely threes and attacking the offensive glass, Davis' steady hand supplemented the lack of offense from his fellow backcourt member, Rob Wright, who scored an uncharacteristic 6 points on Saturday.

Pushing the lead forward little by little, Davis found himself filling the center lane on a three-on-one fast break. The clock approaching to the final minutes, AJ Dybantsa took a steal and darted to the right wing, dishing to Davis as the lone ISU defender made a decision to step up to the three-point line.

Wide open, with a chance to lift the roof off the Marriott Center, Davis found the ball in his hands, and an orange cylinder directly above his head.

Listen to the home crowd as he flushed this controlling field goal through the rim.

Davis' 17 points was second-most behind Dybantsa's 29 on the night -- a critical reminder that when players outside the "Big 2" step up, anything is possible for BYU basketball.