BYU Basketball defeats UC Riverside 2-0

BYU was never seriously threatened and never pulled away as they beat UC Riverside 86-80 on Friday night in Provo.

BYU led by 7 at halftime and 17 in the second half, but missed free throws and defensive errors prevented the Cougars from really pulling away. BYU as a team shot 14-26 from the foul line while UC Riverside shot 19-23.

Egor Demin was once again BYU's star, leading the Cougs with 20 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Egor was 2-for-5 from distance, but only 2-for-6 from the free throw line. Keba Keita had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, Fouss scored 13 points off the bench and Richie Saunders rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points.

BYU was terrible at the free throw line, shooting just 6-22 (27%) from distance, but they outscored the Highlanders 48-14. UC Riverside made 11 three-pointers and shot nearly 40% from distance. BYU had some good moments on defense, but BYU had some bad moments in transition as they learned a complex defensive system.

Dallin Hall was out again as he recovered from a lower leg injury. BYU expects him to be back by Thanksgiving.

BYU has five days off before welcoming Queens to the Marriott Center on Wednesday night.