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BYU basketball fans got the chance to see the new-look Cougars on Wednesday night in the Marriott Center at the Cougar Tipoff, as Blue defeated White 74-71.
Noah Hartsock led the Blue team to victory with 24 points and 13 rebounds while Stephen Rogers led the White squad with 20 points.
Head coach Dave Rose was pleased with both teams’ performances this early into the team’s practices.
“I think that went like most tipoff scrimmages that we have,” he said. “I was pleased generally with a lot of things. I think we have quite a few things to work on but I think that’s typical at this time of year.”
The game started as the Blue team pulled out to an early 10-point lead after an 8-0 run sparked by Charles Abouo’s tip-in off of a Hartsock miss and a fade-away jumper by UCLA transfer Matt Carlino.
[/media-credit]The White team brought the game to within six toward the end of the first half, but Blue once again extended its lead to 10 as the teams entered the locker room for halftime.
In the second half, White kept the game close behind the play of Brandon Davies. Davies scored 16 points in the second half and 19 overall in his first action since being suspended last season.
With two minutes in the game, Rogers tied the game after a basket. Over the next minute of play, Blue was able to stretch its lead back to four and clinched the win when Davies and freshman Josh Sharp missed shots under the basket with under 20 seconds to go.
Now, with the season underway, Rose feels that the team can settle into a better game routine.
“This is the best time (of the year),” he said. “You wait all summer and all fall, you go through the spring and you get to this point and you know what you’re doing every day. … The guys will tell you that the funnest part is when we start playing games every day and that is.”
The scrimmage also featured various forms of involvement with the fans. Halftime featured prize giveaways with a trip to the BYU versus Pepperdine game in Malibu, Calif., and a Trek Mountain bike up for grabs. Following the game fans were given the chance to receive autographs from their favorite Cougars.
Next up, the Cougars welcome former BYU guard Michael Loyd Jr. and Midwestern State to the Marriott Center for an exhibition game on Saturday at 7 p.m.
