EDMONTON, Australia -- BYU closed out its tour of Australia with a 111-84 win Tuesday over the Kuiyam Pride of the Australian Basketball Association. The Cougars compiled a 4-2 record on the trip, playing six games in seven nights.
In Tuesday's finale, BYU coach Steve Cleveland gave senior Mark Bigelow some deserved time off. Cleveland played his leading scorer just two minutes before taking him out for the rest of the game. Entering the game with a 21.6 scoring average, Bigelow did not attempt a shot Tuesday. Senior center Rafael Araujo (11 points in six minutes) and senior forward Jake Shoff (three rebounds in seven minutes) were effective but also spent the majority of Tuesday's win watching from the bench.
Austin Ainge was one beneficiary, playing a team-high 30 minutes and getting his first start. Hitting a team-best four treys, the 6-foot-1 point guard took advantage of his time on the floor. He and fellow redshirt freshman Garner Meads each scored 17 points and shared team-high rebounding honors with eight.
In all, six Cougars scored in double figures, led by senior center Dan Howard with 18. Junior guard Marc Roberts joined Araujo with 11 points and junior forward Jared Jensen added 10. Seniors Luiz Lemes and Ricky Bower added nine points and Kevin Woodberry scored eight. Woodberry led the team with five assists, followed by Bower with four and Terry Nashif with three. Roberts and Woodberry each made three steals.
With starters Ainge, Woodberry, Bigelow, Jensen and Howard, BYU took the early lead and never looked back. The Cougars held an 11-point advantage at the first quarter and the half and put the game out of question in the third quarter by outscoring the Pride 23-12. The Cougars shot well, making 48 percent of their field goals and 44 percent from long range, while holding Kuiyam to 39 percent overall and 36 percent on threes.
Five members of the Pride reached double-digit points, led by Timmy Duggan with 18.
Having played six games in seven days, the Cougars will enjoy a day Wednesday to visit the Great Barrier Reef before returning to Provo on Thursday.