Haws, Toolson Lead BYU Hoops To Victory In First Game Of Italy Tour

FLORENCE, Italy – The BYU Basketball team is living their best life right now, or as they say in Italy, living la dolce vita.

Every four years college basketball programs can participate in foreign tours in the summertime.  BYU hoops are currently spending their foreign trip in Italy and on Monday they had their first exhibition game on the tour.

The Cougars defeated BC Silute, a Lithuanian professional team, 92-64.

BYU’s senior leaders TJ Haws and Jake Toolson led the way as each recorded double-doubles.  Haws had 23 points and 10 assists, while UVU transfer Toolson had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Haws shot an impressive 70-percent from the field and 63-percent from behind the three-point line.

Yoeli Childs

Senior forward Yoeli Childs who is suspended by the NCAA for the first nine games of the 2019-20 season scored 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds while dishing out five assists.  The minutes played in the game were not released in the box score provided by BYU.

These games in Italy give first-year head coach Mark Pope an opportunity to get an early look at lineups that the Cougars will need to utilize without Childs in the first nine games of this season.

🎥🇮🇹 BYU vs BC SILUTE HIGHLIGHTS

#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/uovl0DcstK

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) August 20, 2019

Observations from highlights in BYU’s win

Sophomore forward Gavin Baxter is one of the best athletes on this year’s BYU basketball roster, watching him elevate over defenders to pull down rebounds from a standing position is impressive.

Jake Toolson was 4-11 from the three-point line in BYU’s win.  We can see the range that Toolson has in his game as he was knocking down three’s well behind the arc.  After entering the transfer portal, Toolson received interest from Duke and Virginia because of his sharp-shooting abilities.

Arizona transfer Alex Barcello was a four-star recruit coming out of high school in large part because he was a prolific scorer as a prep standout, but also his ball-handling abilities.  Barcello made a nice behind the back pass to forward Zac Seljaas for the finish at the rim.

At the 1:49 mark of the highlights, TJ Haws made a pump fake pass on a BC Silute defender that allowed Haws to get an easy bucket.  That pump fake move by Haws was a signature fake from his older brother, Tyler Haws, and former Cougar center Brandon Davies embraced it as well.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.