BYU basketball dominates Queens

BYU basketball played its most dominant game of the season Wednesday night against Queens University of Charlotte Royals.

The final score of the game was 99-55, and the game was not even that close.

Trevin Knell opened the game by scoring a driving layup after an intricate first set from BYU head coach Kevin Young.

"It's kind of nice when I catch the ball, and all of a sudden, I see nothing but the basket and their five men going to face guard Keita, so there's no oops," said Knell. "It was great to get a good start. I feel like our team is really coming together with our chemistry and everything."

The Cougars and Knell never looked back. Knell went 5 off 5 from the field in the first half and 4 of 4 from the 3-point line. He led the Cougars with 14 points in the first half. Knell was not alone, BYU was 20 of 31 from the field and 7-13 of from 3 in the first half. Whatever the Cougars wanted, they got against a Royals team playing the second night of a back-to-back Utah road trip.

BYU pushed the pace early and often on their way to a 23-2 lead to open the game. They scored eight fastbreak points, many more on the secondary break. 10 BYU players played over 10 minutes, and all 10 recorded at least a field goal. Four players scored double figures, and three more had at least seven points. At one point, BYU scored 19 straight points before a Queens' basket. It was precisely what BYU needed to do after only beating UC Riverside their last time out by six points.

The Cougars did have some up-and-down stretches of play to end the first half and early in the second half. But after being challenged by Young and the coaching staff, BYU closed the game out strong.

Notable Performances

As good as Knell was in the first half, Dawson Baker was just as good in the second half. He scored 17 of his 22 points in the second period on 8 or 10 shooting and 6 of 7 from 3. He looked comfortable handling the offense as a primary ball handler and found his windows to shoot off the ball.

"I felt good in the second half knowing that they were gonna help a lot off of people, so just making the right play and knowing he was gonna come back to me and just be ready to shoot," said Baker. "I think I passed up a couple shots in the first half and I knew in the second half I was gonna be more aggressive, looked for my shot."

Mawot Mag played less than five minutes against UC Riverside but played 15 minutes on Wednesday and was impactful on defense. He had a block and a steal and scored 6 points on offensive rebounds and cuts to the basket.

"He knows what he's good at and what he hangs his hat on and just trying to get him to lock into those things on the defensive end of the floor," said Young.

Mag is one of the better defenders in the country but has struggled on offense so far this season. His playing time will be something to watch as BYU gets into the meat of its non-conference schedule.

Keba Keita had another double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He continues to be the perfect fit for what BYU wants to do on offense as a vertical threat.

"The way we play and the way I play, I think I fit pretty well with this team," said Keita. "I mean, if I come set a high, ball screen, coming down, where are you gonna tag me or you're not you gonna get it out and lob, or if you tag me, then there's a kick out corner 3."

Egor Demin had another efficient night. He scored 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting and five assists. However, for the first time all season, he had moments where he looked human. Demin had multiple shots blocked, and his crossover was picked twice as he brought the ball into the frontcourt. He was still BYU's best player on the floor and had a good night overall.

Photo by Sienna Puckrin

The Cougars put another W in the win column, which is the most important one early in the season. The offensive flow from players not named Egor Demin was the best it has looked early in the season. BYU will have two more games to work out the kinks before they face Ole Miss in the Rady Children's Invitational on Thanksgiving weekend.