By: Jay Yeomans

Published: August 23, 2019

Napoli, Italy – The BYU Cougars wrapped up their four-game trip to Italy in fine fashion on Friday as they knocked off LCC International 81-55.

https://twitter.com/BYUbasketball/status/1165102939670663172

Without the services of TJ Haws, Yoeli Childs, Jake Toolson, and Jesse Wade the Cougars used a balanced offensive attack to come away with the sweep. Kolby Lee paced BYU in the scoring column and on the backboards as he registered a double-double with 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor while ripping down 10 rebounds in 29 minutes of work.

Blaze Nield also delivered a breakout performance while handling a lot of the lead guard duties. He finished the night with a double-double of his own recording 11 points and 10 assists while adding a pair of rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes. Evan Troy had a strong showing as well as he knocked down 5 of 8 shots from the field, including 3 of 5 attempts from 3-point range on his way to 13 points in just 18 minutes of work.

The Cougars got out to a fast start against the clearly undermanned squad from LCC International as they jumped out to a nine-point lead after one. The second quarter was even better for the boys in Blue at they stretched the lead to 21 by the halftime break to all but secure the victory.

The BYU Basketball Twitter page shared some highlights from the win.

https://twitter.com/BYUbasketball/status/1165106909449347072

The Cougars were at their best on the glass, easily winning the rebounding battle, 46-28, including 10-3 on the offensive end of the floor. They were also very efficient shooting the ball inside the arc as they connected on 55 percent of their two-point attempts.

The 3-point shooting was another story entirely for the Cougars who had an off-shooting night from distance connecting on just 10 of 41 from beyond the arc. The inexperienced line-up also struggled with turnovers chalking up 17 miscues.

While no other BYU players reached double figures in scoring in the win, everyone who stepped on the floor made significant contributions. Gavin Baxter totaled eight points and five board in 13 minutes on the floor while Wyatt Lowell managed six points and eight rebounds.

Taylor Maughan chipped in with six points and four steals while Trevin Knell knocked down a pair of triples for six points on his own. BYU also got four points and six rebounds from Richard Harward and five points from Colby Leifson.