Brandon Davies leads BYU to 85-60 win over Montana

Led by an on-the-court Brandon Davies, the BYU Cougars dispatched of the Montana Grizzlies, 85-60, on Wednesday night in front of 12,000 fans at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

Davies scored 21 points while pulling down 10 rebounds, dishing six assists, nabbing four steals, and blocking two shots. The big man played a team-high 33 minutes while not committing any fouls, something that has plagued Davies early this season.

BYU shot a blistering 62.5% in the first half to claim a 42-31 lead going into the locker room. While efficiency dropped in the second half, the volume of made baskets did not and Montana could not keep up. Tyler Haws added 18 points on 6-12 shooting, ending his streak of 20-point games.

As a team, the Cougars shot 9-21 from behind the arc, a welcome improvement after earlier struggles this season. One of those makes came from Matt Carlino on his only three attempt of the night. Carlino played a solid 24 minutes off the bench (starter Craig Cusick played 27), shooting 2-4 with two assists and no turnovers.

Kareem Jamar led the Grizzlies with 17 points. Aside from Jamar, Montana shot just 34% from the field, including 3-8 nights from starters Mathias Ward and Keron DeShields. The defending Big Sky champions have been without leader and star Will Cherry, who is out until late December with a foot injury.

The Cougars are in action again on Saturday, Dec. 1 on the road against the Iowa State Cyclones. ISU is 4-2, and the road test will likely play a large factor in any at-large consideration BYU might need at the end of the season.

Full game replay available via BYUtv Sports.