PROVO, Utah — BYU opened the 2024-25 season and Kevin Young era with an 88-50 win over Central Arkansas on Tuesday night at the Marriott Center.
"It was fun to get the first one under the belt. Honestly, it felt like this day was never going to get here with how much lead up there was to the season for me," Young said. "You know, nerves were definitely churning, I think, for me and for the guys. But, you know, I was happy with the way that we played. Obviously, got off to a bit of a slow start, but that may have been expected. But all in all, happy with what we saw out there.”
Freshman point guard Egor Demin led the way for the Cougars with 18 points, 11 assists and four rebounds. Demin’s 11 assists is the most ever in a BYU debut. The Moscow, Russia native arrived at 18 points with 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
Fellow freshman Kanon Catchings recorded 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and four triples. Richie Saunders followed Demin and Catchings with 16 points on 6-of-11 from the floor to go along with eight rebounds.
Mihailo Boskovic used a strong second half to become the fourth Cougar in double figures. The junior from Uzice, Serbia shot 5-of-7 on the night for 11 points. Trevin Knell added eight points and four rebounds.
BYU outshot UCA 45.8-34.5 percent and tallied 15 3-pointers to the Bears’ seven. The Cougars also went 7-of-11 from the free throw line while UCA went 5-of-13.
BYU totaled 21 assists on 33 field goals to 11 turnovers while scoring 24 points off of 18 takeaways. The Cougar defense amassed 18 turnovers on seven blocks and 11 steals. BYU also controlled paint (36-16), bench (23-13) and fastbreak (12-1) scoring on its way to the 38-point victory.
First Half
BYU went to the 3-point shot early and came away with a quick 6-0 lead as Knell and Demin drained triples. UCA hit a pair of their own 3-pointers and tied the game at eight but Demin responded with his second 3-pointer to put the Cougars up 11-8.
Nine minutes into the game, BYU held a 16-14 lead with both teams on three-minute scoring droughts. The Cougars came out of the under 12 media timeout and engineered the first of two momentum-swinging 11-1 runs in the half.
Saunders took the lid off the basket for BYU with a floater down the middle of the lane. Demin found Saunders open in the corner for a triple that put the Cougars up 21-15. Keba Keita started and finished BYU’s next possession with a steal on one end followed by a score at the rim on a lob inside from Demin.
The Keita-Demin duo came up big for the Cougars again moments later with Demin scoring and gathering a foul on a drive to the basket. Demin missed the free throw, but Keita skied for the rebound and threw it down for the putback slam.
BYU went into the under eight media timeout with a 27-15 lead built off an 11-1 run and six forced turnovers over a 4:45 stretch.
The Cougars held a 35-22 lead with 4:28 to play in the half when they put together a second 11-1 run.
After a free throw from Saunders, Knell notched a steal on the Bears’ next trip down floor and BYU wasted no time turning it into points with Demin lobbing to Catchings for the alley-oop slam. Knell then splashed home a corner 3-pointer to put BYU up 41-22.
Demin finished the half on a personal 5-0 run. The freshman point guard darted down the middle of the lane and finished the drive with a one-hand slam. BYU’s final points of the half came much as it started, with Demin draining a top-of-the-key three.
BREAKING: Egor can hoop pic.twitter.com/Ul7uc4acxM
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 6, 2024
The Cougars took a 46-23 lead to the half with 45-percent shooting from the field to 29 for the Bears. UCA finished the half scoreless from the field over the final 4:28.
BYU scored 13 first-half points off of 11 forced turnovers while only turning the ball over three times on its own possessions.
Demin led the Cougars at the half with 13 points, three rebounds and six assists. Saunders joined Demin in double figures with 10 points and five boards.
Second Half
BYU continued its strong finish to the first half as it reached its first 30-point lead less than four minutes into the second.
Demin and Catchings continued their alley-oop act to put BYU up 48-23. Three more 3-pointers followed in quick succession with one each from Catchings, Saunders and Demin as the Cougars built a 57-29 lead. Demin put an exclamation point on the opening sequence of the half with a steal and slam dunk finish to the fastbreak that gave BYU an 59-29 advantage.
The Cougars continued to play with their foot on the gas as they built a 40-point lead at 84-44 with just under four minutes remaining in the game. The middle stretch of the period featured a variety of Cougars making plays on both ends of the floor.
that was smooth 😎 pic.twitter.com/af1PROH9Jl
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 6, 2024
Traore added a rebound and bucket to his night with a putback slam on a missed driving lay-in from Demin. Mawot Mag got in on the 3-point shooting display with a corner triple of his own that took the BYU lead to 67-33. Boskovic benefitted from steals by Saunders and Elijah Crawford to score on consecutive possessions, first from deep and then with a reverse lay-in. Catchings’ final minutes in the game included two more triples and a free throw that delivered the Cougars their game-high lead of 40 with 3:55 to play.
BYU vs Central Arkansas || FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS pic.twitter.com/yqp7hUFC1Z
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 6, 2024
Up next, BYU faces UC Riverside at the Marriott Center on Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. MST. Watch the Cougars versus Highlanders on ESPN+ or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio.