Provo • Is BYU going to struggle this season, or is Westminster College that good?
From afar, that was the big question from a glance at the final score Wednesday night — a 76-62 BYU win — after the schools separated by fewer than 50 miles met in men’s basketball for the first time ever in an exhibition contest.
The Cougars got the win, but the Division II Griffins acquitted themselves well — almost too well — for most of the 10,951 fans at the Marriott Center.
It was a 10-point game with 1 minute, 24 seconds remaining when Griffins guard Sam Orchard, a Utah State transfer, made a pair of free throws to cut in half what was once a 23-point second half lead for the Cougars. But Zac Seljaas and Elijah Bryant hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute.
“That was really good for our team,” said BYU coach Dave Rose, not outwardly displeased that the Cougars didn’t blow out the smaller school from a lesser division. “Probably as far as exhibitions go most of the time, this is one that will really help our team.”
If not for BYU’s Yoeli Childs, Westminster might have been able to make it an even more competitive game. But that the sophomore forward only played 24 minutes tells how little Rose cared about the final score.
Childs scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Rose used his bench liberally in the second half and admitted he put some combinations on the floor he knew would struggle to score.
“When we started substituting and putting groups together that hadn’t played a lot together, we struggled with that,” Rose said. “That’s pretty normal for November.”
The Cougars led 32-10 with five minutes remaining in the first half before a steady stream of whistles disrupted both clubs. Fifty fouls were called, 26 on Westminster and 24 on BYU.
Junior guard Nick Emery, the focus of a school investigation regarding improper benefits, started the game and played four minutes without scoring. Rose said Emery was not feeling well.
“I am really impressed with our guys and how they are dealing with the uncertainty and supporting Nick in that uncertainty,” Rose said, referring to how BYU is waiting on an NCAA ruling regarding Emery’s future eligibility.
As for the Cougars not making mincemeat of the Griffins, Rose credited Westminster coach Norm Parrish for controlling the tempo and causing BYU’s players to foul.
“That was kind of our battle tonight,” Rose said.
Utah State transfer Quincy Bair led Westminster with 17 points, and Utah Valley transfer Dayon Goodman added 16. Orchard, another USU transfer, got in foul trouble and netted six points. Western Nebraska transfer Mason Smith had 11.
Elijah Bryant chipped in 17 for BYU, which shot 50 percent from the field. Bryant said the Cougars went cold in the last 10 minutes of the game because they started rushing shots.
Childs. who also had a monster game in BYU’s 79-73 win over New Mexico last week, was 2 for 2 from 3-point range, and said he has the green light from Rose to display that new element of his repertoire.