BYU Basketball Closes Exhibition With Blowout Win Over DII CCU
Oct 30, 2024, 9:25 PM | Updated: 10:26 pm
BYU basketball cruised past Colorado Christian behind a strong showing from Richie Saunders. (Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
(Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball closed out the exhibition portion of their schedule with a comfortable victory over Colorado Christian from Division II.
The Cougars rolled through the CCU Cougars 93-49.
Final: BYU 93, Colorado Christian 49
Kanon Catchings led the way with 19 points. pic.twitter.com/Iaf9glfrMe
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 31, 2024
BYU’s leading scorer was Kanon Catchings with 19 points, followed by Trevin Knell with 17, and Richie Saunders chipped in 15 points.
Egor Demin finished with zero points but dished out 11 assists in the final exhibition of the season.
BYU finished the game shooting 50% from three, knocking down 18 of their 36 three-point attempts.
First Half
15:28 – Egor Demin was the starting point guard for BYU against the Cougars from Colorado Christian. His first play of the game was an assist to Kanon Catchings for a slam dunk.
Richie Saunders showed off his relentless work ethic in the opening minutes with a strong take to the basket. A few possessions later, Saunders blocked a shot.
Demin had an open three-point opportunity that missed the rim. A couple of possessions later, Catchings knocked down a corner three with a smooth jumper. BYU 11, Colorado Christian 4
Egor Demin's passing ability is impressive. The freshman guard had eight assists in the first half.
He had alley-oop passes to Kanon Catchings (first play), Keba Keita, and a great fastbreak pass to Elijah Crawford for a layup.#BYU #BYUHoops
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 31, 2024
11:53 – BYU’s offense stalled in these four minutes. Kevin Young tried some different personnel that included Mawot Mag, Elijah Crawford, Dawson Baker, Richie Saunders, and Max Triplett. BYU 11, CCU 6.
7:42 – Kanon Catchings has a special ability shooting the basketball. He took the ball off the dribble, rose up from three and knocked down the shot. BYU hasn’t produced many players with that ability.
On the next possession, he hit a midrange jumper. Then he had a heat-check opportunity after Elijah Crawford pushed the ball in transition and found Catchings on the wing, but it bounced off the rim.
Keba Keita had an excellent block on a floater in the paint from CCU’s Bradley Land. Keita blocked the ball at its highest point on the way up. The former Utah Ute had impressive combine testing in the summer, particularly in the vertical leap, and he showed that on his block. BYU 20, CCU 6.
2:54 – BYU had a 17-1 run before CCU’s Nathaniel Law hit a layup to make the score 34-11. During this stretch, the passing ability from Demin shined again. He had a lob pass to Keba Keita for a slam dunk. At the top of the key, he had a quick-decision dribble between his legs, then tossed a pass with one hand in the sweet spot for Trevin Knell to bury a three.
Then Demin picked up his seventh assist on a fastbreak pass to Elijah Crawford for an easy layup.
Before that fastbreak layup, Crawford had a nice and-one opportunity near the paint. BYU 34, CCU 11.
26.1 – BYU got a “BINGO” three after Mawot Mag gathered an offensive rebound and found an open Elijah Crawford for three. BYU 42, CCU 12.
#BYU had a "BINGO" three near the end of the first half when Mawot Mag gathered an offensive board and found Elijah Crawford for the three.
After Crawford hit the three, the videoboard flashed "BINGO" on the screen.#BYUHoops
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 31, 2024
Half – BYU closed the first half with a turnover. Demin held on to the ball and then took off with 12 seconds left on a pass to Baker. The former UC Irvine transfer then committed a turnover on his own pass.
The Cougars finished the first 20 minutes of action on an 8-0 run to build a 30-point lead.
Halftime: BYU 42, Colorado Christian 12.
#BYU leads Colorado Christian 42-12 at the half.#BYUHoops pic.twitter.com/QZfKyGBX3e
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 31, 2024
Second Half
15:51 – Keba Keita made one of the plays of the night blocking a shot that flew over the head of Danny Ainge and into the stands in the Marriott Center.
What a block from Keba Keita. https://t.co/bFgx8SHBDk pic.twitter.com/E1DP9mjvvr
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 31, 2024
The offense came out strong with four threes, two apiece from Trevin Knell and Richie Saunders.
One of those threes from Knell was courtesy of another great pass from Demin. CCU’s Schafer Reichart was going a little too hard defensively, so Demin crossed him up and found Knell for an open three. BYU 64, CCU 20.
11:29 – Dawson Baker knocked down his second three of the game. It will be interesting to see how Baker’s role evolves this season, but he appears to be someone who is set to be a key rotation guy in nonconference play for this team. BYU 69, CCU 30.
8:13 – Mihailo Boskovic checked into the game. Boskovic is currently going through an NCAA process to determine his eligibility for this season. However, he’s able to play in exhibition games. We will see if he’s eligible for next week’s season opener.
2:55 – Jared McGregor knocked down two three-pointers, earning loud cheers from the crowd. McGregor, a walk-on, is in his third season with the BYU basketball program. BYU 86, CCU 45.
0.22 – McGregor attempted another three-pointer that sailed over the rim; BYU maintained possession and found Boskovic open for a three. He knocked down the shot, showing off his smooth shooting stroke. He hit another free on the following possession. BYU 93, CCU 49.
Final: BYU 93, CCU 49.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.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.
