Brooklyn, N.Y. • BYU’s Elijah Bryant drained a 3-pointer from the right corner the first time he touched the ball.
It was not, however, a harbinger of things to come for the junior who had been the Cougars’ leading scorer coming into the game.
Bryant finished with just five points on 2-of-12 shooting Friday against No. 25 Alabama one game after dropping 22 on Niagara. The guard, who still is dealing with a foot injury, missed seven straight shots after his initial bucket.
Just as problematic for his offensive production, however, were the shots he didn’t take.
“Eli has been having a good offensive year as far as numbers are concerned, but if you go back and look, he shoots 8 to 12 free throws a game,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “… He really depends on getting to the line, not only for points but for a rhythm he plays in. Tonight he never went to the free-throw line.”
Despite the pain in his foot, which he injured in the Cougars’ loss to UT-Arlington, Bryant was able to log 27 minutes Friday against the Crimson Tide.
“It’ll be all right,” forward Yoeli Childs said about his teammate. “He’s a tough guy. He’s just going to keep getting better and better as the season goes on. Eli’s one of the toughest dudes I know, and he’ll be fine. There’s no reason to worry about him.”
Big game, small stage
Standing in front of a Barclays Center backdrop for his post-game interview, Rose made it clear once more that he wasn’t happy with the tournament moving the Cougars game away from the home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets to the 2,500-person capacity gym at Long Island University-Brooklyn.
But he didn’t use it as an excuse for his team’s defeat.
“They played in the same gym,” the Cougars’ coach said about Alabama. “It’s just not what we expected when we signed up for this.”
The announced attendance for Friday’s game was 1,240.
“To be honest, it kind of felt like an AAU game,” guard TJ Haws said. “I’ve played in plenty of those games. It’s fun to play in these kind of things. It’s fun to get in a different venue and play a good team like that. I had a lot of fun.”
Thanksgiving
The Cougars made the trip to New York on Wednesday, meaning that they spent Thanksgiving on the road.
Their holiday menu?
“We got some New York pizza for Thanksgiving,” Childs said. “… It’s different being away from your family and stuff, but these guys are like a second family. They’re really like brothers to me. It’s always great to spend time with them.”
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