PROVO, Utah -- Charles Abouo posted BYU’s first double-double of the season with 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in the Cougars 92-60 victory over Longwood Friday night in the Marriott Center. The game was the opener of the Chicago Invitational Challenge for both teams.
“The 16 boards were very impressive and something that we really needed from Charles," head coach Dave Rose said. "Charles is a guy who has great athletic ability and we’re playing him in a different role that he’s used to and tonight he really broke out and felt comfortable as a player in the role that we need him to perform in.”
As a team, BYU posted 15 three-pointers, just one shy of the Marriott Center record, with eight different Cougars hitting from deep and Stephen Rogers and Damarcus Harrison leading the way with three apiece.
“I think we took a lot of steps tonight. We had a lot of players in the game that played well," Rose said. "We’re talking about a lot of new guys who haven’t played in a couple of years and who have been involved with practice and game preparation. I was really pleased with the amount of players that played and their execution."
Noah Hartsock started the night with a dunk off an assist from Brandon Davies.
Following Hartsock’s dunk, the Lancers went on a 10-2 run to pull ahead by six, but a jumper from Hartsock started the Cougars on a run of their own. BYU took over the lead and extended it to as much as six, leading to a halftime score of 35-29.
The Cougars finished the first half shooting 6 of 10 from 3-point range, with six different Cougars posting 3-pointers.
BYU’s momentum carried into the second half, as every player that entered the game for the Cougars contributed points.
The Cougars shot an impressive 57.7 percent from three and 55.2 percent from the field. BYU limited Longwood to 41.1 percent shooting from the field and out-rebounded the Lancers 42-24.
In addition to Abouo's double-double, Hartsock added 18 points and five rebounds. The Cougars also saw strong play from their bench, with Rogers and Damarcus Harrison posting 17 and 11 points, respectively, and Nate Austin drawing three charges.
Freshman Anson Winder also scored his first career points and finished with eight points, two 3-pointers and five assists. Fellow freshman Damarcus Harrison had his best game as a Cougar, finishing with 11 points and three 3-pointers.
Antwan Carter led Longwood with 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting.
BYU's game on Tuesday against Prairie View A&M will be televised live on BYUtv at 7 p.m. MST.