If the BYU men’s basketball fans at the Marriott Center for Wednesday’s exhibition game against Division II Colorado Christian were there to catch a glimpse of the much-hyped Cougar freshmen, they got a eyeful.

With veterans Dallin Hall, Fousseyni Traore and Trey Stewart not in uniform and sitting this one out for precautionary reasons (i.e., presumably resting up for the opener), freshmen Egor Demin, Kanon Catchings, Elijah Crawford and Brody Kozlowski got plenty of minutes and put on a nice show in BYU’s 93-49 victory.

The Cougars started Demin, Catchings, junior Richie Saunders, senior Trevin Knell and junior Keba Keta against Colorado Christian and played all 13 players who suited up for the game.

Demin didn’t score in the first half but recorded eight assists and five rebounds. Catchings provided the offensive punch, displaying an NBA-ready jumper in making 6 of 8 from the field for 14 points in 22 minutes. Crawford ignited the BYU attack from the point and contributed eight points, three assists and three rebounds. Kozlowski got some time and drained a 3-pointer during his eight minute stretch.

“I just told the guys two things that stood out,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “I thought our defense in the first half was suffocating, which we expected, just being a little bit more physically dominant. We held them to 12 points in the first half. The second half was a different story. But the stat that I liked the most was, and this is just who we’ve tried to be since I’ve gotten here, that we were just unselfish. We had 24 assists on 31 makes and ten guys had an assist. So just in terms of them carrying over things that we’ve talked about quite a bit, I liked seeing that.”

Demin began the game with a slick alley-oop to Catchings for a dunk and Saunders had a good start as the Cougars got out to an 11-4 lead at the first TV time out

Without Hall, the starting point guard, the BYU offense went more than three minutes without scoring during one stretch but Crawford found Kozlowski for a triple and Catchings hit a couple of jumpers to break things loose. Demin connected with Keta for an alley-oop slam and BYU took a 29-9 lead with 5:40 to play in the half.

Demin picked up two more dimes, setting up Knell for a 3-pointer and giving a no-look assist to Crawford on the break to make the score 34-9 at the 3:30 mark.

Newcomer Mwot Mag scored on a feed from Crawford then nabbed an offensive rebound and returned the favor to Crawford for another 3-pointer and the Cougars led 42-12 at the half.

BYU shot 57% (16 of 28) in the first half, with 12 assists on those 16 made baskets. The Cougars forced 12 turnovers and held Colorado Christian to 21% shooting (5 of 24), 0-for-9 from beyond the arc.

BYU started the second half with a 24-5 run, making 5 of 6 from the 3-point line as Demin ran his assist total into double digits (11). Knell and Saunders each made a pair of triples and Dawson Baker added another. The Cougars led 64-17 on a driving layup from Baker at the 15:05 mark.

The lead reached 47 points, 67-20, on another Baker 3-pointer, with 14:40 to play in the game.

Catchings led all scorers with 19 points on 8 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, in 25 minutes.

“I feel very comfortable,” Catchings said. “I’m just trying to watch film as much as I can. I practice, pay attention as much as I can, and then just try to listen and try to hear what Coach is trying to say and trying to get us to do. I’d say the biggest adjustment is just space in college, because it’s just a bigger court.”

Knell finished 5 of 8 from the 3-point line and scored 17 points. Saunders ended up with 15 points and five rebounds and Baker scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Demin went scoreless on three shots but had 11 assists and six rebounds. Crawford’s line was nine points, five assists and five rebounds.

BYU will open its 2024-25 preseason schedule at the Marriott Center against Central Arkansas on Nov. 5.