Freshman Egor Demin fuels BYU’s rout of Central Arkansas

Egor Demin scored 18 points and dished out 11 assists in his collegiate debut while leading BYU to a 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.

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