BYU basketball defeated D-II program Westminster in an exhibition game at the Marriott Center. Let’s take a look at how the team played.
The season might not have officially started yet, but BYU basketball has a 76-62 exhibition victory over Westminster under their belt as experience for the real thing. Throughout the game, they used their size and strength to get the victory.
The Cougars started out taking advantage of their size difference by feeding the ball down low to Yoeli Childs, who scored the team’s first six points. He finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in the first half alone.
There was an ugly stretch of basketball by both teams where unforced turnovers were prevalent as well. Nick Emery, who has been in the headlines recently with a pending investigation into improper benefits, left the game will an illness after playing just a few minutes.
Westminster came out much better offensively to start the second half, hitting a few threes. The Cougars responded some treys of their own. There was a clear difference when Childs was out of the game as the offense became more perimeter oriented. That caused some droughts due to poor shooting which allowed the Griffins to trail by just 10 with a minute to go. Yet, Westminster went nearly eight full minutes towards the end of the game without a made field goal and BYU ultimately won the game 76-62.
Childs was the star of the game, finishing with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Elijah Bryant chipped in with 17 with three deep balls as well. It wasn’t the prettiest of performances, but the Cougars got the win. Here are some thoughts on the game.
1. Jahshire Hardnett might be the best point guard.
With Emery a question mark to begin the season, it might be a good option to start the JUCO transfer Jahshire Hardnett at the point. As talented a scorer as TJ Haws is, his ability to distribute and make others better is still developing. Hardnett is a good defender and a pass-first guard and has played well thus far.
2. Payton Dastrup will be riding the bench
Last season, the forward was just coming off of his mission and was out of shape. Although he has lost 40 pounds and looks fine physically, on the court he looks lost. In the three minutes he played, he touched the ball twice and had inexcusable turnovers. He’s clearly the fourth big on the bench and the former top-100 player is likely not going to see the floor much this season.
3. The offense was way too stagnant at times.
It might be an overreaction, but the offense looked just as disjointed at times with Childs off the court as they did last year. The other bigs (Nixon, Shaw, and Worthington) are not guys who will score consistently down low against players their own size. If BYU can’t make their shots from distance when Childs is either off the court or in foul trouble, losses are gonna come.
Next: How Yoeli Childs will be handled
The biggest surprise was Childs taking and making both his 3-point attempts. He clearly developed his game in the off-season and will be adding his name to the conversation as one of the best players in the league. The rest of the team had moments, but much improve offensively if they’re gonna compete with Gonzaga or Saint Mary’s.