Provo • Still without its leading scorer, and days after falling in overtime at Saint Mary’s, BYU came out hot on Saturday night. So hot, the Cougars were hitting all of their early shots while preventing Portland to score even one basket.
But as quickly as BYU heated up, it also cooled down. The Cougars struggled to play consistently throughout the game — until the latter stages.
However, the Cougars’ fast start — and complete team effort — proved to be enough to hold back Portland as BYU beat the Pilots 96-70 at the Marriott Center.