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Provo • Brandon Davies couldn't be stopped.

Jet Chang couldn't get going.

As a result, BYU had little trouble disposing of BYU-Hawaii on Tuesday night at the Marriott Center.

Davies finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots to lead the Cougars to an easy 73-52 victory over the Seasiders.

BYU scored the first nine points and built a 23-3 lead eight minutes into the game.

The Cougars owned a 40-17 halftime lead and cruised to victory in front of 13,435 fans.

"I thought BYU came out and did a great job defensively," said Seasider coach Ken Wagner.

"They really came after us and I don't know that we were ready. We missed a couple of early shots and then started taking some bad ones."

Before the game, BYU coach Dave Rose called Chang, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, the best Division II player in the country.

Against the Cougars, however, Jet never got off the ground. He ended up with 12 points but missed eight of his 13 shots and committed five turnovers.

"I believe our guys took the challenge [because] he's a terrific player," Rose said. "… Our guys did a good job controlling him."

BYU forward Noah Hartsock agreed: "He's a good player. … [But] I think we frustrated him. We contested his shots and got into him when he came off screens."

Inside, Davies and Hartsock dominated BYU-Hawaii.

The Cougars outrebounded the Seasiders 51-31 and forced them into 31 percent shooting.

"Defensively, we played aggressively," Rose said. "… We contested shots and were active. That's really pleasing to the staff. We can keep building on that."

BYU-Hawaii failed to convert its first 11 possession of the game.

On the other end, Davies scored BYU's first six points. He had 14 of the Cougars' first 21.

"I tried to make sure I was ready today and I started off strong," Davies said.

"… I've kind of struggled with that."

The Cougars owned a 40-14 lead just before halftime when Christian Covey, a freshman from nearby Timpview and one of four Utah high school products on the Seasider roster, nailed a 3.

But it was a rare field goal for BYU-Hawaii, which missed 25 of its 31 shots in the first half, including 11 of 13 from the 3-point line.

To their credit, the Seasiders didn't quit.

In fact, SeQuan Lawrence's floater from the lane with 12 minutes remaining trimmed BYU's lead to 50-33.

With 9:20 to play, Jake Dastrup buried a 3-pointer to make it 53-38 before BYU regained control.

"In the second half," Wagner said, "our guys came together and started playing better. But when you get off to that kind of a start, it's tough.

Highlights

R Junior center Brandon Davies finishes with 25 points and nine rebounds as BYU defeats BYU-Hawaii, 73-52.

• The Cougars jump to a 23-3 lead in the opening minutes and cruise to victory against the Division II Seasiders.