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PROVO — After missing the first four games of the season due to a toe injury, Dallin Hall returned to the BYU lineup for the first time this season and provided an offensive spark.
Hall finished with 10 points and five assists as BYU beat Mississippi Valley State 87-43 Saturday night.
Hall briefly entered the transfer portal after the departure of Mark Pope and was seemingly going to be demoted to the secondary point guard option with the entrance of Egor Demin. But Hall showed why he was head coach Kevin Young's point guard.
"It's fun to play the game with someone who sees the game so similarly," Hall said on playing with Demin. "I have never played with someone like Egor."
The Cougars were without big man Keba Keita, who suffered an injury in the Cougars' win over Idaho last week, but Fousseyni Traore finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Delta Devils.
"Fouss is a stud, exactly what you want out of a young man in your program. I'm lucky he stuck around," Young said. "He is a great guy and gets a lot done as well."
Young said Keita will be back for the team's road trip to San Diego next week, barring any setbacks.
Through the first half, Hall hit two shots from beyond the arc and dropped five assists in 14 minutes of play. Similar to other games this year, though, the Cougars struggled to start with a strong lead as the Delta Devils hung around on a 16-11 lead for BYU.
But BYU went on a 19-4 run that was capped off by a Mihailo Boskovic dunk and a Hall 3-pointer to extend the lead to 19. And, suddenly, the Cougars were off and going.
no big deal @mihab2002 🤷♂️
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 24, 2024
📺https://t.co/TAzoOjiIffhttps://t.co/UDkzIOSOZUpic.twitter.com/DzNDSPvMey
Over the last 10 minutes of the first half, BYU outscored the Delta Devils 25-12, with freshman forward Kanon Catchings wowing the crowd with a crossover move that resulted in a 3-pointer as time expired to take a 55-27 lead.
. @kanoncatchings ends the half🥶
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 24, 2024
📺https://t.co/TAzoOjiIffpic.twitter.com/sjqjPYtVEl
After 20 minutes of play, Catchings led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
"It was one of my big focuses coming into the game was to get Kanon going," Young said. "We were trying to get him in positions to do what he does. I loved how he attacked the basket tonight."
BYU continued its dominance early on, going on a 15-8 run through the first nine minutes of the half. With nine minutes to play, Catchings blocked a 3-point attempt and slammed home the outlet pass to take a commanding 75-40 lead over Mississippi Valley State.
Demin finished with 8 points, six rebounds and had six assists in the effort.
The Cougars will travel to San Diego to participate in the Rady Children's Invitational where they take on previously ranked Ole Miss. The winner will face the winner of Purdue and NC State.
