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PROVO — BYU didn't turn aside its turnover troubles in Saturday night's nonconference game with visiting Nicholls.
The Cougars just managed to rebound past them.
Fousseyni Traore had 15 points, seven rebounds and a block; and Gideon George added 15 points and 10 rebounds as BYU overwhelmed Southland Conference foe Nicholls 87-73 to improve to 3-1 Saturday night in front of 13,745 fans at the Marriott Center.
Rudi Williams supplied 10 points, six assists and four rebounds for the Cougars, who outrebounded the Colonels 54-31. Atiki Ally Atiki had 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting with two boards, Noah Waterman chipped in 7 points and seven rebounds, and Spencer Johnson had 7 points and four rebounds in a balanced effort for BYU.
"It was just a mess of a game the whole night, which is a credit to Nicholls; that's why they're back-to-back league champions," BYU coach Mark Pope said. "They play really hard and they really compete. They played smaller than they normally do tonight, because they were missing their starting center, and it made the game a little chaotic. ... That's a really hard game for Fouss and Atiki, but I thought both of those guys were spectacular.
"We had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, and it probably saved us," he added. "We weren't playing great, we weren't shooting great, we had nine turnovers in the first half, and the stat that was glaring while we let them shoot over 50% from the 3-point line was we were still right in the game — because we had 11 offensive rebounds.
"I'm super proud of the guys' effort there. That's something that is really important; we've got to take advantage of that where we can."
Nichols (0-3) converted nine first-half turnovers into 12 points, and BYU shot just 39% from the field (including 5-of-22 from 3-point range) against a Colonels squad that forced 22.0 turnovers per game in losses to No. 17 Arizona and Wyoming to open the season and forced 21 while giving up just 11 to BYU.
"I feel like that's just who they were," said Williams, who had five turnovers to along with six assists to finish with a plus-13. "They're an aggressive team, they hack at the ball, and coach told us that going in."
The Cougars led for just 4:44 of the first half, primarily through a breakout performance from freshman Richie Saunders, who had a career-high 8 points and eight rebounds by halftime. But Nichols ended the half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Jalen White to take a 40-37 advantage at the break.
Traore added 8 points and four rebounds in the first half for BYU. White was the only player in double figures with 12 points, but three Colonels had 6 points apiece for a club that assisted on 10-of-14 made baskets.
George scored a pair of buckets during a 13-2 run near the start of the second half to help the Cougars to a 56-47 advantage. Hall stretched the lead as high as 12, 66-54, with a pair of free throws after BYU held the Colonels scoreless for more than three minutes midway through the second half.
"When he's right, it makes a huge difference for us," Pope said of George, one of two seniors on the roster with Williams. "Especially when he's protecting the ball and making plays for other guys. Obviously, his impact on the glass was significant tonight."
A Noah Waterman 3 gives the Cougs their first lead of the night 👌#BYUhoops | #GoCougspic.twitter.com/a7dUR8xjbQ
— BYU Sports Nation (@BYUSportsNation) November 20, 2022
Turnovers have been a bug-a-boo for the Cougars for the first two weeks of the year, ranking 340th nationally with 18.7 giveaways per game. Part of that is owed to BYU's style of play, a fast, rangy group of newcomers who play in transition and above the rim.
But that's not an excuse, assured Williams, who has averaged 5.0 turnovers per game in the first four games of the year.
"I'm not pointing any figures; turnovers are mine, and I take full responsibility for those," Williams said. "I'm just going to study the game more, watch film more, go over my scout, understand the defense I'm going against and make sure they are limited."
Saunders finished with 9 points, nine rebounds and an assist for the Cougars.
Marek Nelson led Nichols with 15 points and three rebounds, and Micah Nelson added 11 points, three rebounds and three assists for the Colonels.
BYU departs Sunday for the Bahamas, where it will participate in the Battle 4 Atlantis beginning Thursday against USC. The Cougars could also face Tennessee and Butler in a field that includes Dayton, Kansas, North Carolina State and Wisconsin.
