BYU tops West Virginia 73-69 behind 16 points from freshman Egor Demin

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Freshman Egor Demin scored 16 points to lead BYU to a 73-69 win over West Virginia on Tuesday night.

Kanon Catchings added 11 points for BYU (16-8, 7-6 Big 12).

Toby Okani scored 16 points and Jonathan Powell and Joseph Yesufu added 11 apiece for the Mountaineers (15-9, 6-7).

Demin’s long 3-pointer as the shot clock expired gave BYU a 68-65 lead with 3:48 left.

Okani made back-to-back baskets off of offensive rebounds to put West Virginia ahead 69-68 with 2:13 left.

But Okani fouled Demin, who hit two free throws with 58 seconds left to put BYU ahead for good, 70-69.

Yesufu missed a 3-pointer, BYU got the rebound and Mihailo Boskovic made a layup and was fouled with 9.3 seconds left. Boskovic made the ensuing free throw for the final margin.

West Virginia’s Javon Small, the Big 12’s leading scorer at 18.9 points per game, was held to nine points.

Small fell hard on a drive to the basket just before halftime and landed on his back. He was fouled on the play, made two free throws, then went to the bench briefly before returning to the court.

Powell was left wide open in the right corner in the closing seconds of the first half and he sank a 3-pointer to give West Virginia a 34-32 lead at the break.

BYU’s Trey Stewart, who had scored nine points all season, had eight against the Mountaineers.

Both teams play again on Saturday, with BYU hosting Kansas State and West Virginia playing at Baylor.

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