Egor Demin scored 18 points and dished out 11 assists in his collegiate debut while leading BYU to an 88-50 win over Central Arkansas in the season opener for both teams at Provo, Utah, on Tuesday night.

Demin set a BYU freshman record for most assists in a debut game. Richie Saunders added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Kanon Catchings chipped in 17 points in his debut for the Cougars. Keba Keita had a team-high 10 rebounds.

BYU recorded a 23-2 edge in second-chance points, grabbing 20 offensive rebounds, and the Cougars outscored the Bears 36-16 in the paint.

Elias Cato led Central Arkansas with 21 points. The Bears committed 18 turnovers that led to 24 points for BYU, and they shot just 34.5 percent from the field.

BYU repeatedly attacked from the perimeter throughout the first half but struggled to knock down outside shots. The Cougars hit just 7 of 23 attempts (30.4 percent) from 3-point range before halftime and took awhile to get going on offense as a result.

Stingy defense kept Central Arkansas at arm’s length when the Bears threatened early.

Cole McCormick dunked to cut BYU’s lead to 13-12. Then Central Arkansas went seven minutes without scoring a basket. The Bears committed seven turnovers and missed four shots during that stretch.

It opened the door for BYU to take control.

The Cougars scored baskets on five straight possessions to fuel a 15-2 run. Saunders and Keita powered the surge with a pair of baskets apiece. Fousseyni Traore finished things off with a dunk that put BYU up 33-17.

Once the Cougars got rolling, Central Arkansas struggled to get back in the game. BYU closed the first half on an 11-1 run punctuated by a 3-pointer from Demin to take a 46-23 halftime lead.

–Field Level Media