PROVO — The game itself carried a huge learning curve for the visitors and an expected outcome. But the chance to play in front of family and friends — many of whom were clad in school-color green shirts — was worth the more than 2,000-mile trip.
In BYU's 101-48 victory over Southern Virginia on Wednesday night at the Marriott Center, several Knights players with Utah ties had the opportunity to showcase their basketball talents in front of a supporting crowd while also showing just what Southern Virginia basketball is all about.
Former Springville High standout Preston Eaton led the Knights — a provisional NCAA Division III member — with 11 points and three assists. The 5-foot-11 senior starting guard, who's bounced around in his college career, also tied for the team lead with five rebounds.
"To have all my family there really meant a big deal to me," Eaton said. "My senior year, I've waited four or five years for this, competing and playing hard. They've only been able to come out to a couple games. And I had more than that. I had high school coaches, I had extended family, a lot of people who've really made an impact in my life and really built me as a person and as a man. I'm extremely grateful for that."
Eaton was one of six players with ties to the state of Utah who took the floor for the Knights on Wednesday night. Three others played high school basketball in the state — Ben Canevari at Cottonwood High, Taylor Larson at American Fork High and Kaleio Manuela at Provo High. Team captain Wesley Evans, who hails from Crystal Lake, Illinois, served his mission in Salt Lake City, and reserve freshman center Michael Neufville played at Salt Lake Community College before transferring to the Virginia school.
Utah ties on the Southern Virginia roster who didn't play included Scott Edwards (Provo High), Ryan Logan (Canyon View High) and Corey Jones (Cottonwood High).
The 6-4 small forward Larson, whose father Russell was a two-time all-WAC performer at BYU, had an efficient night in his second game as a Knight, scoring four points on 2-of-3 shooting and adding five rebounds, a block and a steal.
"We knew that BYU is a great Division I team and we knew we're not a very big school out in Virginia but we have a lot of heart," Taylor Larson said. "We just wanted to come out and show the community what we were made of."
Canevari, a 6-6 junior power forward who started all 22 games for Southern Virginia last year, added a spark off the bench against the Cougars. He played 13 minutes and scored six points to go along with a rebound and a steal.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to come and play on the BYU floor," said Canevari, who grew up a Cougar fan. "Obviously everyone in Utah wants to have that chance to play at that D-I school, and it was a great experience.
"I'm a Knights fan, I love the Knights, but I love the Y. as well."
Maneula, who started for Southern Virginia at center, scored two points and had four rebounds in 19 minutes. He, along with Edwards, was a teammate of BYU's Kyle Collinsworth at Provo High. Collinsworth, who had knee surgery in March, sat out the game as a precautionary measure.
There was plenty of player familiarity between the two schools. That included Eaton, who played AAU basketball with Cougar guard Skyler Halford.
"I know Skyler from a long time back, and that first play of the game he came and took a charge on me. I was kind of upset about that, but he was right there," Eaton said. "He's a good player. To battle with them and to experience that atmosphere, I've played with the Collinsworths and a couple of the other guys, to see it real time and live is good experience."
Halford only played two minutes after injuring his hip early in the contest.
"I wish I would have gotten to bump him around a little bit, compete against him. He's a fun guy to play against," Eaton said. "Him and I have had similar routes, bounced around schools, went the juco route. It's been a great experience to be able to come back."
Canevari said he's played pick-up ball with several Cougars in the past. That includes BYU senior guard Tyler Haws, who scored 13 points in the Cougar win.
"He probably doesn't remember me," Canevari joked.
Eaton, too, has family connections with the Provo school.
"My sister (Lexi) was watching in the stands. She plays for the BYU women's team and my grandma played for BYU," he said. "It just kind of came full circle for me. It's a big blessing."
The venue was much bigger than the Knights' home court, which head coach Tony Caputo said seats around 500. Wednesday's announced crowd at the Marriott Center was 13,099. But it held special meaning for these Utah athletes returning to a place that felt familiar.
"Being a freshman and playing on the Marriott Center floor is pretty intimidating, but it's been a lifelong dream. My dad played here a long time ago, but it's been a lifelong dream," Larson said.
"I remember coming here when I was 9, 10, 11. My dad was down on the floor doing stats (for KSL Radio) and I was watching the guys. I remember Keena Young, Jimmer Fredette obviously, just wishing and hoping that one day I'd be able to play on the Marriott Center floor. Now I have. It's not as a Cougar, but I'm super excited it was with a Knight jersey."
The contest also allowed Southern Virginia players and coaches the opportunity to show their Utah supporters what their school — located in Buena Vista, Virginia, and with plenty of ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — is all about.
"I think this, to be televised nationally and to get ourselves out there, was a really big deal for our school. Our school has a lot to offer, academically, sports, LDS environment and East Coast," Eaton said. "There's just a ton of things our school can offer that people don't know about. To get Southern Virginia on the map is a really big deal."
"I remember the experience when I went to SVU," Canevari said. "I just felt an overwhelming spirit, just like I would here. I would recommend anyone to go to that school that's looking into it. … The correlation with the LDS religion there, it's been a great experience for me."
Not everything was rosy for the visiting Knights as they faced the challenge of taking on a well-known Division I school. Southern Virginia shot just 29 percent from the field, was outrebounded by 18 boards and committed 26 turnovers. BYU set a single-game school record with 19 steals and outscored the Knights 54-16 in the paint.
"We can learn that we need to grow a little bit," the freshman Larson said. "Those guys were super long but we just need to work on our turnovers. We had 26 turnovers in that game, that was one of our biggest things. It was just silly turnovers, too."
But these results weren't unexpected, given the wide classification gap, and they allowed for a learning experience, players and coaches said.
"I think our guys played with class, they played hard. They didn't give up, the effort was there. We were just overmatched," Caputo said. The coach has his Utah ties as well — he went to school at both Weber State and Southern Utah and taught for 14 years in three different Utah school districts.
"Now that we've played that game, when we go back to our conference, nobody's going to seem anything like that. I think that's going to be helpful going on from here."
In addition to playing hard in front of plenty of supporters, there were other bright spots for the visitors. At one point, the Knights cut an early double-digit BYU lead to 21-17, using a 7-0 run to close the gap. That was later negated when the Cougars finished the first half strong and broke the game open in the second half, leading by as many as 56.
"I'd have liked to have been a little closer on the scoreboard, but I think as far as our sportsmanship and the way we played, how hard we played, the fact that we didn't give up, we played everybody and everyone got a nice run out there tonight," Caputo said. "Our school is kind of about that, it's an opportunity for people to shine. It's a place where it's a very small student body and people who'd perhaps be spectators at this game can actually be players on our team."
Email: bjudd@deseretnews.com; Twitter: @brandonljudd