KISSIMMEE, Fla.\u00a0\u2013 After a slow start, BYU basketball pulled away to defeat the Miami Hurricanes, 72-62 in the ESPN Events Invitational.<\/p>\n
Here are some takeaways from the win that improve BYU\u2019s record to 5-1 overall.<\/p>\n
Kennard Davis, in his return, sparked a run for BYU in the second half<\/p>\n
BYU was trailing Miami 40-39 with 15:55 remaining in the game until Kennard Davis, who made his return to the lineup after a two-game suspension, buried a corner three-pointer to give the Cougars a two-point lead.<\/p>\n
From there, BYU was off to the races.<\/p>\n
BYU put together a 13-1 run that spanned 5:35 of game action, and Miami didn\u2019t hit a field goal in that stretch.<\/p>\n
Davis finished the game as BYU\u2019s leading scorer with 18 points. He was excellent from beyond the arc, knocking down four of his seven 3-point attempts.<\/p>\n
BYU basketball changed its demeanor in the second half<\/p>\n
BYU head coach Kevin Young, along with assistant coach John Linehan, pointed to the demeanor of the team being an issue in the first half. They changed that in the second 20 minutes, particularly on the defensive end.<\/p>\n
In the first 10 minutes of the second half, BYU held Miami to only eight points. BYU was the more physical team in the second half, and that allowed them to pull away.<\/p>\n
Final: BYU 72, Miami 62 pic.twitter.com\/2dyfC74Jyj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Defensive masterclass by Keba Keita<\/p>\n BYU center Keba Keita, as he put it after the win over Miami, didn\u2019t want to be pushed around. Keita put on a masterclass in defense in the second half.<\/p>\n In the first seven minutes of the second half, Keita blocked four shots.<\/p>\n Keita finished with seven blocks in the game, the most by a BYU player since Shawn Bradley had 10 blocked shots in 1991.<\/p>\n Offensive rebounds are an area to improve<\/p>\n Miami made a point of setting the tone as an enforcer on the offensive glass. It worked early on as the Hurricanes outrebounded BYU in the first half, 9-6.<\/p>\n Miami ended up outrebounding BYU on the offensive glass, 15-9.<\/p>\n Dawson Baker\u2019s injury\u00a0<\/p>\n During the second half, BYU guard Dawson Baker went down with an injury. He needed to be helped off the court by his teammates, Brody Kozlowski and Jared McGregor, while he was nursing his left leg.<\/p>\n In the postgame, BYU head coach Kevin Young had no formal update on Baker but said his \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d are with the senior guard.<\/p>\n Baker\u2019s injury is significant if he\u2019s out for an extended period. In BYU\u2019s win over Miami, the Cougars only played seven players with more than 10 minutes of action. Baker was one of those players. Who takes those minutes off the bench?<\/p>\n The sharp-shooting Aleksej Kostic or Dominque Diomande, who had a nice three in the first half on Thursday night, could be some of the beneficiaries of increased minutes.<\/p>\n BYU improves to 5-1 overall this season. They will be back in action tomorrow night in the Terry\u2019s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational Championship, facing Dayton at 7:30 p.m. (MST) on ESPN and KSL NewsRadio.<\/p>\n Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE<\/a>).\u00a0Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12\u20133 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.<\/p>\n Follow Mitch\u2019s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on\u00a0X (formerly Twitter)<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram:<\/a>\u00a0@Mitch_Harper.<\/p>\n Want more coverage of BYU sports? Take us with you wherever you go.<\/p>\n