BYU and its highly touted freshmen will be back in action again Friday night when they host UC Riverside in Provo, Utah.
Egor Demin, a five-star standout from Moscow, Russia, and NBA prospect Kanon Catchings, both had successful debuts for the Cougars (1-0) in their 88-50 victory Tuesday night over visiting Central Arkansas.
The 6-foot-9 Demin, who previously played for the Real Madrid academy in Spain, was particularly impressive while compiling 18 points, 11 assists, four rebounds and four steals — with only two turnovers — in the win.
The 18-year-old set a BYU record for most assists by a freshman in a season opener. He also had 11 assists in BYU’s exhibition win over Colorado Christian.
“I like to pass the ball,” Demin said. “I really believe that my first option is to involve everybody in the game before I get my game.”
Catchings totaled 17 points with three rebounds and three blocks in his first collegiate game.
First-year BYU coach Kevin Young saw room for improvement in his team, especially on the defensive end. The Cougars shot 45.8 percent from the field but only 63.6 percent from the free-throw line.
“It was a lot of defensive lapses to start the game. Our switches were poor, they got way too many easy baskets,” Young said. “We settled in with some subs. I thought Mihailo (Boskovic) steadied the ship with his calming presence.”
UC Riverside (0-1) visits Provo on the heels of a 91-76 loss at Oregon on Monday.
Barrington Hargress, the returning Big West Freshman of the Year, had his 10th straight double-digit scoring performance with 20 points.
Kaleb Smith added 14 points, Isaiah Moses totaled 13 points and seven assists and Nate Pickens scored 11 in the loss.
The Highlanders trailed by 15 at halftime but rallied to pull within seven points with 6:14 remaining before Oregon went on an 8-0 run to seize control.
–Field Level Media
