BYU basketball: Cougars defeat Central Arkansas to open season

BYU guard Egor Demin warms up prior to the Cougars' exhibition against Colorado Christian on Oct. 30 in Provo.

The Kevin Young era at BYU is off to a hot start.

The new-look Cougars earned a convincing 88-50 win over Central Arkansas Tuesday night, notching Young’s first career victory as a college head coach.

3 takeaways

Egor Demin is just as good — if not better — than advertised. The freshman phenom and NBA Draft prospect dominated in his BYU debut, scoring a team-high 18 points, swiping four steals and dishing out 11 assists as the Cougars’ primary ball handler. Simply put, Demin plays as if he came down from a higher league, and his dynamic skillset could eventually cement him as an all-time program great.

The freshman phenom and NBA Draft prospect dominated in his BYU debut, scoring a team-high 18 points, swiping four steals and dishing out 11 assists as the Cougars’ primary ball handler. Simply put, Demin plays as if he came down from a higher league, and his dynamic skillset could eventually cement him as an all-time program great. “3-Y-U” isn’t going anywhere. The Cougars attempted 44 3-pointers, making 15 for a 34% clip. Demin and fellow freshman Kanon Catchings each made four shots from deep, with Richie Saunders adding another three makes as well. Every BYU player who touched the floor, aside from big men Keba Keita and Fouss Traore, attempted multiple shots from distance.

The Cougars attempted 44 3-pointers, making 15 for a 34% clip. Demin and fellow freshman Kanon Catchings each made four shots from deep, with Richie Saunders adding another three makes as well. Every BYU player who touched the floor, aside from big men Keba Keita and Fouss Traore, attempted multiple shots from distance. BYU was plenty productive in the post. The Cougars scored 36 points in the paint, compared to just 16 from Central Arkansas. BYU also won the rebounding battle 49-31 — grabbing 20 offensive boards in the process — and swatted seven blocks. The tandem of Keita and Traore combined for 12 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks, missing just two shots and leading the defensive charge.

What Kevin Young said about his first win

“Honestly, (it was) just fun to get the first one under the belt. It felt like this day was never going to get here, with how much lead-up there was to the season for me. Nerves were definitely churning, I think for me and for the guys. I was happy with the way we played. Maybe we got off to a bit of a slow start, but that’s to be expected. All in all, (I’m) happy with what we saw out there.”

Special Collector's Issue: "1984: The Year BYU was Second to None" Get an inclusive look inside BYU Football's 1984 National Championship season. Buy Now

Click here to read article