Spencer Johnson scored a career-high 20 points and dished out seven assists to lead BYU to a 110-63 victory over Houston Christian in Provo, Utah, on Monday night in the season opener for both teams.
Trevin Knell hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for the Cougars. Noah Waterman tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, while Jaxon Robinson chipped in 13 points. Fousseyni Traore collected a team-high nine rebounds.
BYU shot 47.6 percent from the field and made 15 3-pointers. The Cougars had 27 assists on 40 baskets. BYU also finished with a 59-25 advantage on the glass and outscored Houston Christian 28-2 in second-chance points.
Marcus Greene led the Huskies with 18 points. Houston Christian shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half and trailed by double digits for the final 32-plus minutes. The Huskies committed 15 turnovers, resulting in 18 points for BYU. The Cougars had a 22-3 edge in fastbreak points.
BYU overwhelmed Houston Christian with blistering shooting. The Cougars made 10 3-pointers and shot 46.3 percent from the floor overall to stake out a 56-18 halftime lead. Eight different BYU players made a basket in the first half. Knell led the way with four threes.
The Huskies trailed wire-to-wire but were within striking distance when Greene hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 7-6. BYU quickly ran away after that point. The Cougars went on an extended 41-7 run over the next 13 minutes to effectively bury Houston Christian. Three straight baskets from Traore, Trey Stewart and Knell ignited the run.
Defensively, BYU held the Huskies to only three baskets over a 14-minute stretch in the first half. The Cougars forced turnovers and dominated the glass to keep Houston Christian from ever threatening a serious rally.
BYU led by as many as 48 points in the second half.
–Field Level Media