BYU vs. Arizona Christian box score

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BYU vs. Arizona Christian notes and quotes

PROVO, Utah – Jake Toolson and Nick Emery led BYU in a 103-75 exhibition win over Arizona Christian Friday night at the Marriott Center.

An 18-0 run early in the second half put the Cougars out in front for good. The Cougars shot 50 percent from deep as a team in the win, hitting 18 shots from behind the arc and assisted on 29 of 39 makes in the game.

"I'm really pleased with how we competed as a team," head coach Dave Rose said. "I think the first half was so different than the second half. A lot of that was our guys settled down a little bit defensively."

Toolson led all scorers with 23 points on 8 of 11 shooting, including six made three-pointers. Emery also added 20 points, going 7 of 13 from the field while hitting 4 of 6 from deep. Cory Calvert and Jakob Hartsock both added 12 points in the game. Jamal Aytes led the Cougars in rebounds, grabbing seven on the night. Toolson, Kyle Davis and Braiden Shaw each added six boards of their own. Cooper Ainge posted seven assists for the Cougars, with Calvert adding five of his own.

BYU jumped out to an early 9-5 lead as Emery hit a quick three-pointer followed by a jumper to start a 7-0 run three minutes into the half.

After two scores from ACU, Calvert and Emery hit back-to-back shots from deep followed by a Nate Austin putback to push the BYU lead to 17-10 with 15 minutes left in the half.

The Firestorm took the lead on an 8-0 run, but a Hartsock jumper put the Cougars up 26-25 with eight minutes left to play. BYU and ACU traded the lead on three sets of three-point baskets, bringing the score to 38-37 for the Firestorm with four minutes remaining in the half.

Austin came up with a big putback at 1:54 to put BYU up 41-40. With a minute left, Kyle Davis blocked a Firestorm shot that Emery quickly pushed up the court to Davis for the dunk and BYU and ACU went into the lockerroom tied 44-44.

Emery finished the half with 15 points while shooting 60 percent from deep. Toolson shot 4 for 6 from the field to contribute 11 points for the Cougars. 

Toolson converted an and-one 3-point play to put the Cougars up 47-46 with two minutes gone in the second half.

After exchanging baskets with the Firestorm, BYU took a 54-48 lead as Emery hit his fourth three on the night with 16 minutes left to play.

Hartsock hit a shot from deep as part of the 18-0 BYU run at the 14 minute mark that put the Cougars up 67-48. Toolson capped the run with his fifth 3-pointer of the night.

Both teams traded a couple quick scores before BYU went up 80-61 on back-to-back three pointers from Calvert and Zac Seljaas at the eight minute mark.

Toolson hit a highly-contested corner three as the shot clock expired with four minutes to go, bringing the score to 90-67 for BYU.

Braiden Shaw came up with the big putback dunk off a missed shot at the two minute mark to give the Cougars a 96-67 lead. Alan Hamson was the last BYU player to score and the Cougars finished off the Firestorm 103-75.

BYU returns to the Marriott Center next Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. MST to face Alaska in another exhibition contest. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and can be streamed on byutv.org. Cougar fans can also listen to the game on the Cougar IMG Sports Network (KSL 1160 AM or 102.7 FM) or on BYU Radio and Sirius XM 143. 

PROVO, Utah – Coming off an exciting Cougar Tipoff, BYU basketball will play its first of two exhibitions in preparation for the 2015-16 season when it hosts Arizona Christian in the Marriott Center on Friday at 7:30 p.m. MDT. The game will be televised live on BYUtv and broadcast on the Cougar IMG Sports Network on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.

Freshmen Nick Emery and Zac Seljaas led the way in the Cougar Tipoff with 19 points apiece. Kyle Davis added 10 points, 11 rebounds and three assists while Jake Toolson (16 points), Elijah Bryant (14) and Cory Calvert (10) also scored in double figures.

BYU finished 25-10 overall and 13-5 to finish second in the West Coast Conference in 2014-15. The Cougars received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they were eliminated by Ole Miss in the first round. Entering this season, Kyle Collinsworth and Chase Fischer were named preseason All-WCC and the Cougars were picked to finish second in the WCC by the league’s coaches.

Arizona Christian posted a 25-9 record in 2014-15 and advanced to the second round of the NAIA Division I National Championships. The Firestorm were picked to win the Golden State Athletic Conference in the preseason coaches’ poll. ACU is coached by Jeff Rutter and returns four of five starters, including NAIA All-American Brandon Newman and All-GSAC forward Sherif Watson. Rutter also welcomes the services of transfers Chris Sterling, Collin Wood and Trevor Clay.

The Firestorm opened this season with a 107-89 win over Life Pacific College. Sterling led the way with 24 points while Bobby Gray (22) and Newman (21) also eclipsed 20 points. ACU hit 49 of 67 free throws, hit eight 3s and had 14 steals.

Friday’s game is the first of two exhibitions the Cougars will play in the preseason. BYU will take on Alaska at home on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. MST.