Traore, Catchings power BYU to 87-43 win over Mississippi Valley State

The duo combined for 29 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists on Saturday night.

Author Halle Taylor
Traore, Catchings power BYU to 87-43 win over Mississippi Valley StateTraore, Catchings power BYU to 87-43 win over Mississippi Valley State
Box Score
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PROVO, Utah – The Cougars remain undefeated after an 87-43 victory over the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils on Saturday evening. 

"I thought we were really good defensively in the second half," said BYU head coach Kevin Young. "That was our challenge at halftime. We got a little overextended defensively in the first half. We wanted to see improvement in the second half. We were happy to come out with the win with a lot of guys playing."

Fousseyni Traore led the Cougars with his first season double-double of the season finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. This is Traore’s 14th career game leading BYU in points and rebounds. His 15 points helped him move up to 47th on the all-time scoring list, surpassing Eric Mika (2013-14, 2016-17) and Bruce Burton (1960-63).

Freshman forward Kanon Catchings scored 14 points, tallying new career-highs in rebounds and assists, with three of each. He shot 50 percent from the field to help lead the Cougars.

Dallin Hall made his return for the Cougars and debuted his junior season with three 3-pointers, five assists and four rebounds.

The Cougars recorded 21 assists on 31 made field goals while holding MVSU to eight assists on 17 made field goals. The Cougars now lead the nation in assists per game with an average of 22.6 through five games. BYU also ranks eighth nationally with an assist to turnover ration of 2.1.

BYU outshot MVSU 53.4-37.8 percent and tallied 11 3-pointers to the Delta Devils’ two. The Cougars went 73.7 percent from the free throw line in comparison to 70 percent for MVSU. BYU dominated the paint with 38 points to the Delta Devils’ 20. 

The Cougars had five players mark double-digit points tonight, coming from Traore (15), Catchings (14), Trevin Knell (12), Dawson Baker (10) and Hall (10).

First Half
Catchings claimed the game’s opening points off an assist from Hall, helping the Cougars begin the game 7-2 over the Delta Devils. 

Richie Saunders, Hall and Traore powered a 6-0 Cougar run with 17:30 remaining.

With 14 minutes to go, MVSU found offense, but Demin stopped their run after he rejected a jumper. After a Delta Devil personal foul, Mawot Mag drained both of his free throws to take the Cougar lead to 20-11.

Nearly halfway through the first, Knell hit a 3-pointer, jump-starting a 12-0 run. Mihailo Boskovic elevated over his defenders and owned the rim to continue what Knell started. Baker nailed another jumper, leading to a 3-pointer from Dallin Hall and two from Catchings, taking the scoreboard to 32-13.

Boskovic notched his second dunk on the evening with 7:45 to go. Both teams traded fouls and free throws until the Cougars cashed eight-straight points, highlighted by a Demin 3-ball, three-straight Catchings points and a layup from Mag. Catchings sunk a buzzer-beater from behind the arc to close the first half 55-27.

Catchings’ 12 points and three rebounds in the first half had him leading the Cougars. Traore was just behind him with nine points and four rebounds. 

Notes&Quotes

Second Half
The Delta Devils started off the second half with a 4-0 run. The game remained stagnant until Hall got a takeaway to then help him hit a 3-pointer, bringing the score to 60-31.

Both coming off of Demin assists, Knell and Saunders both drained 3-pointers to take a 6-0 Cougar run with 13:34 remaining. 

Trey Stewart replied to a 5-0 MVSU with a triple. After Catchings refused a 3-pointer from MVSU, he rocked down the court to make his second dunk of the evening. The Cougars maintained a large control of the scoreboard, 75-40 over the Delta Devils with 9:10 left on the clock. 

Baker controlled the court with a 4-0 run, fueling 12-straight Cougar points with the help of Knell and Traore, bringing the final score to 87-43. 

Up next, the Cougars will travel to San Diego for the Rady Children’s Invitational on Nov. 28 for a Thanksgiving matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels at 3:30 MST. Tune in to the first road trip of the season on FS1 or listen on BYU Radio for play-by-play with Greg Wrubell.