Cougars roll in season opening win vs Central Arkansas

A highly anticipated season finally tipped off Tuesday night, as the BYU men’s basketball team took down the Central Arkansas Bears 88-50. Former and current BYU legends dotted the crowd as new head coach Kevin Young and company took the court in hopes of continuing an exciting year in BYU athletics. 

Despite the changes in coaching and personnel, the Cougars certainly resembled last year’s squad, at least in terms of 3-point shooting. BYU launched 44 3-point attempts throughout the game, including nine attempts in the first ten possessions. Trevin Knell got the party started right out of the gate, while freshmen Kanon Catchings and Egor Demin were right behind him in firing away from behind the arc.

Demin in particular was spectacular throughout the night, dishing out 11 assists and totaling 18 points, on 7-13 shooting. Playing without starter Dallin Hall, the freshman was able to shoulder the responsibility in the point guard role for the Cougars, especially shining midway through the first half.

Central Arkansas had cut the lead to just three with 10 minutes left in the half, when Demin found himself in the soft spot of a 2-3 zone and kicked it out for a Richie Saunders 3. He followed that up with another assist for an easy Keba Keita dunk, and then a steal and transition layup, all within a span of a minute. His passing ability has already been praised by scouts and fans alike, but if he continues to shoot it like he did Tuesday (4-7 from 3), the Cougars will be in great shape this season.

Offensive rebounding was also a large factor during the game, with BYU grabbing 20 offensive boards and Central Arkansas 10. Long rebounds resulting from the plethora of 3 point attempts provided plenty of opportunities for BYU’s athletic bigs and wings to crash the boards. Keba Keita and Fouss Traore both had four on the offensive end and finished with ten and six total rebounds, respectively.

Defensively, Central Arkansas sported a 2-3 zone for a lot of the night, forcing the Cougars to utilize their passing and shooting to score some points. It had some initial success, as they took the lead 11-10 and stayed within five for the first 11 minutes, but eventually BYU was able to knock down shots and open up things in transition by forcing 18 turnovers.

In addition to Demin, Richie Saunders was another standout, knocking down his open outside shots and utilizing drives and floaters en route to 16 points. Potential first round pick Kanon Catchings also had a great night, showing no fear to shoot the ball on his way to 17 points, as well as 2 impressive blocks. He led the charge to open up the second half, scoring a quick five points to stretch the lead to 26.

Overall, it was a pretty balanced night for BYU. Four players scored in double figures, and all ten Cougars who checked in scored at least one point, while eight had at least one assist. 

For Central Arkansas, Elias Cato led the way, finishing with 21 points, just two points behind his career high. The Bears struggled to get much going outside of him, shooting 24% outside of Cato, battling a mix of man and zone looks from BYU.

Next up, BYU will face off against UC Riverside on Friday, November 8th at 7: PM MST at the Marriott Center, available on ESPN+.

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