PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball is 2-0 after the first week of the Kevin Young era. The Cougars defeated UC Riverside on Friday night 86-80.
Freshman Egor Demin shined again, scoring 20 points, dishing out seven assists, and grabbing five assists.
#BYU 86, UC Riverside 80.
Cougs are 2-0 to begin the Kevin Young era.#BYUHoops pic.twitter.com/78wlKP8ALc
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 9, 2024
The Highlanders kept the game close against the heavily favored BYU squad by hitting 39% of their three-point attempts. BYU shot only 27% from beyond the arc.
Where BYU lacked from deep, they made up for it in the paint. They outscored UCR 48-14 in the paint.
BYU had a game-high 17-point lead with 13:33 remaining, but UC Riverside kept chipping away at the lead. UCR’s Kaleb Smith had 20 points to lead the Highlanders.
Starting Lineup – Dallin Hall remains out
BYU started with the same five they used during the season opener: Egor Demin, Trevin Knell, Richie Saunders, Kanon Catchings, and Keba Keita.
Junior guard Dallin Hall was once again sidelined along with Trey Stewart.
First Half
15:45 – Kanon Catchings had an excellent effort with a block on help defense. Catchings continues to be challenged by Kevin Young and his staff to get better on the defensive end. He’s showing signs of how good he can be on that end of the floor early in the season. BYU 11, UC Riverside 3.
The defensive effort from Kanon Catchings on that block. Put that on his NBA draft highlight mix. #BYU #BYUHoops
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 9, 2024
11:54 – Fousseyni Traore gave BYU some strong minutes off the bench. He got an and-one opportunity and knocked down a midrange jumper. It will be fascinating to see how his role evolves over this year. There is still value to having an enforcer in the paint.
Nice start for Fouss. He will always be a guy who can be an enforcer down the low and get buckets. It will be interesting to see how his role evolves with this #BYU team.#BYUHoops
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 9, 2024
BYU let UC Riverside go on a 6-0 run before the media break against a Cougar lineup that featured four reserves with Elijah Crawford, Dawson Baker, Saunders, Mihailo Boskovic, and Traore. BYU 18, UCR 12.
10:46 – Egor Demin checked back into the game for Elijah Crawford after the Highlanders jumped out to a 9-0 run on a Isaiah Moses three. BYU 18, UCR 15.
9:03 – Demin knocks down a three to erase the brief 44-second tie in the game and get BYU back in front. BYU 23, UCR 20.
8:35 – Kanon Catchings returned to the court after a five-minute break.
7:16 – BYU started the game, shooting 22% from three-point range. Still, they attempted five more shots than the Highlanders, and as a byproduct, they hit two more field goals. BYU 25, UCR 21.
3:42 – UC Riverside was shooting 50% from three (6-12), while BYU was at 18% from beyond the arc (2-11). Fousseyni Traore gathered an offensive rebound off a missed Catchings three to put BYU back in front after another brief tie. BYU 31, UCR 29.
2:24 – BYU struggled to knock down free throws, hitting only 50% of their first 10 attempts. Egor Demin had a miss off the glass that was ruled a field goal attempt, but it looked like it could have been a pass that went to Fousseyni Traore for a putback slam dunk, forcing the Highlanders to burn a timeout. BYU 35, UCR 29.
Half – Egor Demin finished the first half with an impressive slam dunk. BYU closed out the first half on an 11-4 run. BYU 40, UCR 33.
First half notables for #BYU against UC Riverside.
– Fousseyni Traore: 11 points
– Keba Keita: 8 points, 7 rebounds in 10 minutes (picked up 2 fouls)
– Egor Demin: 10 points, 5 assists, 4 reboundsPoints in the Paint: 24
3-PT: 2-11#BYUHoops— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 9, 2024
Second Half
16:51 – BYU came out aggressively to begin the second half, jumping to a 10-2 run. Demin got the scoring started with a midrange jumper then a three. Then fellow freshman star Kanon Catchings buried two shots.
Keba Keita nearly had a slam dunk that would have sent the Marriott Center into a frenzy, but he couldn’t convert. BYU 50, UCR 35.
11:48 – Is there anyone in the Big 12 who brings more effort than Richie Saunders? The UC Riverside player had a clear path to a layup or slam dunk, but Saunders closed in and blocked the shot away.
Vintage Richie Saunders.
UC Riverside had a clear path for a slam dunk. Saunders shows relentless effort and blocks the shot.
He brings it every night.#BYU #BYUHoops
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 9, 2024
After that moment, he checked out of the game for a break, and the Marriott Center gave him a loud cheer to recognize his effort. BYU 56, UCR 44.
11:35 – It was good to see Dawson Baker knock down his first field goal of the season. He knocked down his first field goal attempt tonight. BYU 59, UCR 46.
7:53 – BYU continues to dominate the Highlanders in the paint. At this point of the half, the Cougs had a 14-2 edge over UC Riverside in the paint. BYU 71, UCR 55.
6:10 – UC Riverside cut BYU’s lead back to single-digits after a Nate Pickens layup. Then Pickens proceeded to steal BYU’s inbounds pass. He kicked it out to Isaiah Moses for a three, but it went off the iron. BYU 71, UCR 62
3:42 – Fousseyni Traore has put together a strong performance tonight. He gathered an offensive rebound off a Catchings missed three, extending a BYU possession. But credit to UC Riverside, they won’t go down easily. BYU 77, UCR 66.
2:15 – Kevin Young burned a timeout after the Highlanders got an easy slam dunk at the rim. BYU 79, UCR 72.
1:06 – Coming out of the timeout, Young brought out the original starting five to open the game. Demin had possession at the top of the key, drove to the basket off a pick from Keba Keita and found the former Utah standout on the roll for a slam dunk. BYU 81, UCR 74.
1:00 – Dawson Baker knocked down two free throws and then went out on the defensive possession; Mawot Mag subbed in for him. BYU 83, UCR 74.
16.2 – BYU had some sloppy play that they will need to clean up going forward. Richie Saunders went for a highlight play on an alley-oop attempt to Kanon Catchings that UCR’s Isaiah Moses made the steal. Dawson Baker then came up with a defensive play of his own on the opposite end.
The Highlanders then fouled Egor Demin, sending him to the line for a one-and-one. He missed the front end. BYU 83, UCR 76.
To close out the game, Mihailo Boskovic salted it away by knocking down two free throws. BYU finished the game, shooting 54% from the charity stripe.
Officials called Boskovic for a foul on a three-point shooter at the opposite end. Nate Pickens went to the line for three free throws with 0.1 remaining, and UCR was down by seven. You would have thought the arena would have been silent, but it was a loud crowd as free Chick-fil-A chicken for the north end was on the line.
Pickens missed the first two free throw attempts, giving the North End fans free chicken. He knocked down the third free throw.
Final: BYU 86, UCR 80
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
