Fun to watch BYU men's basketball win and keep learning in their win over Queens tonight. A few bright spots:
* Mawot Mag - I like that Coach Young got him some more minutes tonight. Played about 15 minutes, 6 points all around the basket. Contributed also a couple rebounds, a block, a steal - still getting comfortable with lateral movement after a knee injury. Probably not quite the defender he has been in the past due to that injury.
* Elijah Crawford - Again, really like that they gave Crawford a lot of developmental minutes, got him into the game flow earlier. Played 16 minutes, but focused on some gritty defense and making plays for teammates - 4 assists, 2nd highest on the night. Made some nice plays for others passing the ball. Also, 4 rebounds and a couple steals. Would like it if he could get 10-12 minutes a game. Time now is good because Hall will take minutes when he comes back.
* Egor Demin - Solid night for him, good stat line. This team challenged him defensively a bit more, and you could see it bothered him some, but he still made plays. Very efficient on offense with 67% shooting, 50% from three-pt line. 14 points, 5 assists, 2 steals. Three turnovers a bit more than we've seen, but he was on the floor longer than anyone and handled the ball primarily in that time, and they three a lot of pressure at home. This is Ego on a "quiet night" - still, easily scored 14 and was 3rd highest scorer behind hot-shooting Baker and Knell.
* Mihailo Boskovic - A good but not great night. 7 points, solid otherwise.
* Keba Keita - Great game against a big interior defender. Shot 55% from the floor, 11 points, 13 rebounds, and even 3 assists. Fun to see the chemistry start to develop with other players beyond Demin.
* Trevin Knell - Played smart, shot 4-7 from three, 16 points. Best stat line of the year for him, fun to see him get going early. Very efficient in 20 minutes of play.
* Dawson Baker - Very similar to Knell tonight - great 3-pt shooting, smart play, hit 6 threes at 86% clip - wow. 22 points, a couple good assists.
Key Stats on the night: 15 3-pointers made at 43% shooting percentage; 59 rebounds. Held Queens to 34% shooting while we shot 51%.
Nice win!