PROVO — If two games of the 2016-17 season are to be believed, the biggest improvement on the BYU men’s basketball team from a year ago is in the post.

The two more dominant big men took another step forward Thursday night.

Eric Mika scored a game-high 18 points with five rebounds in just 15 minutes, and freshman Yoeli Childs supplied eight points, 15 rebounds and three assists as the Cougars rolled to a 96-59 rout of Coppin State in the Marriott Center on Thursday night.

“Yoeli’s 15 rebounds tonight were pretty impressive,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “That was a real bright spot; not only can he stay on the floor and out of foul trouble, but he can really have an impact on the game. He blocked a few and changed a lot of shots.

“Our big guys are really going to be a strength and a real factor with this team.”

Nick Emery supplied 13 points and three assists, and TJ Haws and Elijah Bryant each scored 11 points for the Cougars (2-0).

BYU jumped out to a 14-2 lead behind a flurry of eight points from Haws. The Cougars’ lead ballooned to 20-5 with 13:41 left in the first half before Rose went to his bench against an Eagles team playing its fourth of seven-straight road games to open the season.

BYU took a 48-32 lead at halftime, then opened the second half on a 13-2 run to take a 61-34 lead with 14:48 left on Childs’ team-high third dunk of the season.

Terry Harris led the the Eagles (0-4) with 10 points and nine rebounds. As a team, BYU outrebounded its MEAC foe 62-37.

Here are a few thoughts from the game.

TJ Haws is having a Haws-like start to his BYU career

It went a little under the radar because of what Mika did in the season opener against Princeton, but let’s say it now: Haws isn’t playing like a freshman.

The returned missionary true freshman scored 20 points against the Tigers, including three 3-pointers to go along with three steals. But with Mika’s double-double in his first regular-season game since returning from a mission in Italy, it’s understandable if you didn’t notice the younger brother of BYU all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws.

The younger Haws exploded for eight points in the game’s first eight minutes. His 3-pointer with 10:25 left in the game gave the Cougars a 77-41 lead, and BYU salted away the final quarter of the game.

BYU’s post game is strong

How do you follow up a 26-point, 18-rebound night in your first college basketball game in two years?

If you’re Mika, you host a block party.

Mika also pulled down five rebounds in the first half, and connected on an efficient 6-of-8 field goals.

But Mika wasn’t the only impressive big guy wearing a Cougar uniform. Yoeli Childs finished in the top-five all-time for BYU freshman rebounding.

“I like playing in any game,” Childs said. “It’s an awesome environment here; we have the greatest fans, and it’s great to come out here every night.”

BYU saw what its depth could do

Coppin State played a lengthy streak of guarantee games, and the MEAC school had to be exhausted playing its fourth of seven-straight road games to open the season, including Wednesday night’s 89-59 loss at Coastal Carolina (the Eagles also play Saturday at Utah).

Rose took advantage by playing his bench early, which will prove to be valuable experience in the long run.

After pulling down six rebounds against Princeton, Childs had four points and nine rebounds off the bench — in the first half. He finished with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, 15 rebounds and three assists, while Elijah Bryant had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in reserve.

“Everybody just boxed out, and most of the time the ball just fell my way,” Childs said. “Everyone boxed out every time, and that just happens sometimes.”

Payton Dastrup scored nine points in seven minutes for BYU, and Jamal Aytes had seven points and two rebounds.

With all the youth, though, there were some rough moments. Coppin State scored nine points on 13 first-half turnovers even as the Cougars went into the halftime break with a 46-29 lead. BYU also committed 13 of their 23 fouls in the first 20 minutes.

“I think we were just trying to overshare the ball,” Bryant said. “They weren’t bad passes, but we were trying to overshare the ball.”

BYU shot just 4-of-15 from the 3-point line in the first half, a trend that would’ve made Chase Fischer and last year’s squad cringe. The Cougars shot 52.3 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the second half.

But they also made just 9-of-27 from 3-point range, and struggled against a Coppin State that forced 11 steals.

“We had a couple of aggressive drives that they did a good job of taking from us,” Rose said. “But a lot of it was just their aggressiveness and how they play defense to steal. They like to get their hands in and take the ball from you, and we were soft with the ball.”

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