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Provo • It took exactly one game for the so-called Lone Peak Three to show it will be a force to be reckoned with at BYU.
In the long-awaited reunion of Lone Peak High products Nick Emery, TJ Haws and Eric Mika, the threesome combined for 61 points as BYU downed Princeton 82-73 on Monday night in front of 15,926 at the Marriott Center and a national television audience on ESPN2.
Emery was more proud of the way the Cougars played defensively.
"Tonight we really showed people we are willing to work hard and get stops on the defensive end," Emery said.
Mika led the way with 26 points and 18 rebounds, while Haws added 20 and Emery 15. Emery also grabbed eight rebounds as BYU used a 49-38 edge in caroms over the smaller Tigers and won a season opener that was as difficult as expected.
"Princeton was a really good team," Emery said. "I think that was one of the best teams to come through the Marriott Center since I've been here."
The Cougars pounded the ball inside at every opportunity and flourished at the free-throw line as a result. They were 30 of 41 from the stripe, while Princeton was just 9 of 12. The Tigers (0-1) hoisted up 34 3-pointers, connecting on 10.
Mika was 12 of 13 from the line, having improved immensely after spending the last two seasons on a church mission in Italy.
"I spent the last six months practicing them, and it paid off a little bit tonight," he said.
Leading by nine at halftime, the Cougars went to a zone to start the second half, and the Tigers made them pay. Devin Cannady hit a pair of 3-pointers to cut the deficit to three, the closest the visitors had been since midway through the first half.
Cannady led the team picked to win the Ivy League with 18 points.
BYU surged out to a 58-47 lead with 12 minutes remaining, but a 7-0 run got Princeton back in it and when Steven Cook made a 3-point play, BYU's big lead was cut to one, 63-62. LJ Rose sparked an 11-2 run for the Cougars, and they held on to improve to 5-0 against Princeton all-time.
"We definitely fed off the energy of our crowd," Mika said.
The Cougars found their rhythm offensively midway through the first half, and rolled out to a 44-35 halftime lead, thanks to 16 of 18 free-throw shooting and the dominating play of Mika. He had 14 points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes, dominating inside and eventually fouling out Princeton's 6-foot-7 Hans Brase.
Brase left with 11 points with 11 minutes remaining.
Emery said the win will definitely be an NCAA Tournament résumé-builder for the Cougars, since Princeton entered with an RPI of 35. He also said Rose, the Houston transfer, brought a calming influence down the stretch when the Tigers refused to go away.
Mika, Emery and Haws scored 36 of BYU's 44 first-half points.
Twitter: @drewjay