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PROVO, Utah - Four players scored in double figures and the BYU basketball team defeated Midwestern State 91-74 in an exhibition game Saturday night at the Marriott Center.
"I thought there were a lot of really good things we saw out there and areas of concern," head coach Dave Rose said. "We are excited to get started next week."
Junior Stephen Rogers scored 16 points to lead the way and junior Brandon Davies added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Seniors Noah Hartsock and Charles Abouo helped out with 15 points and 14 points, respectively. The senior duo also combined to grab 16 rebounds.
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"Having a lot of guys who can score is a big strength for us," junior guard Brock Zylstra said. "It’s different between this year and last year. It can be any guy's game. Everyone can score, everyone can contribute."
The Cougars hit the glass hard, pulling down 59 rebounds including 21 offensive boards to Midwestern State‘s 39 total rebounds. BYU also shot 48 percent for the game and held the Mustangs to 38 percent and under 17 percent on 3-pointers.
"A lot of our bigs are animals, they want the ball every time," Zylstra said. "They are rebounding and all about hustle. It’s great to have guys go into the trenches like that."
Former Cougar Michael Loyd, Jr. returned to the Marriott Center for the first time since transferring to Midwestern State after the 2009-10 season and scored 13 points and added four assists for the Mustangs.
BYU started out the game on an 11-3 run, fueled by a three-pointer from Zylstra and holding Midwestern State to 1 of 7 shooting with 15:45 left in the first half. The Cougars also collected nine rebounds during the stretch.
After grabbing two offensive rebounds, Zylstra found an open Abouo in the corner and he drilled home a three from behind the arc to give BYU a 25-14 lead with 11:37 remaining in the first half.
Using a 7-0 run, the Cougars stretched their lead to 14 points with 7:20 remaining. Freshman Anson Winder made a layup and sophomore Chris Collinsworth hit three free throws during the run to add to the lead at 36-22.
With under three minutes until halftime the Mustangs trimmed the lead down to nine points but Zylstra made a three-point jumper and Abouo made three shots in row including another three pointer and BYU took a 50-36 lead into halftime.
The Cougars shot 50 percent in the half and 40 percent from beyond the arc. Midwestern State was held to 37 percent shooting and made just 3 of 16 three-point shots in the first half.
After halftime BYU came out hot, opening up on a 10-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half. At the 13:16 mark the Cougars jumped out to a 70-45 lead.
Continuing to dominate the glass, BYU grabbed its 51st rebound of the game and 19th offensive board and Collinsworth dished it to Winder to give the Cougars a 80-58 lead with 7:27 on the clock.
The Mustangs cut the lead down to under 20 points in the final minutes but BYU would go on to win 91-74.
The Cougars will play one more exhibition game before the regular season begins. BYU returns to the Marriott Center on Friday, Nov. 4, to take on Dixie State at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be televised live on BYUtv.