Brigham Young Cougars guard Hunter Erickson (0) dunks over Westminster Griffins Guard Taylor Miller (3) while BYU and Westminister play at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday December 29, 2021. BYU won 65-53. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
Estimated reading time: 5-6 minutes
PROVO – ugly. Dysfunctional. Pathetic.
These were all words BYU coach Mark Pope used to describe his team’s non-conference final against Division II Westminster on a winter Wednesday evening at the Marriott Center.
A win is a win, but the conference game won’t be so friendly whenever it starts.
Perhaps the Cougars’ thoughts were elsewhere, like the recently postponed start of the West Coast Conference with Portland due to COVID-19 issues in the pilot program.
At least it came with a win, didn’t it?
There were a few bright spots, like Reserve Guard Hunter Erickson’s slam with just over seven minutes of play. Or the game of Gideon George from the bench, who kept the Cougars offense, who shot 43% off the field, including 50% in the second half.
Hunter Erickson brings the ENERGY back into the building π€π # BYUHOOPS | # GoCougspic.twitter.com/fQ1GIQUNU3
– BYUtv Sports (@byutvsports) December 30, 2021
George hit a season high of 17 points and eight rebounds, and BYU pulled back in the second half to a 65-53 win over the Griffins, who played without their leading goalscorer, before returning to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game on Saturday recorded.
“This game today was just the finishing touches in the non-conference. It was really important that we finish it right,” said Pope after the game. “We clearly didn’t play our best game tonight. But all in all, I’m really proud of the guys.
“Now is the time for us to regroup. We have to get well. Those 15 games cost our boys a lot emotionally. I’m more concerned about their emotional freshness than physically. We are now in our fifth game in the state and each one of them is so emotional – with seven NCAA tournament games and one eight of the last nine on the road. To come out 12-3 it takes so much emotional engagement, plus injuries, people losing and all the other things that come with it are connected.”
Erickson added a career high of 10 points, and Te’Jon Lucas had 10 points and five assists for the Cougars, who finished the non-conference game with a 12-3 record, which is currently 30th on the NCAA’s NET ratings .
Trevin Knell delivered 11 points, three rebounds and two assists for the Cougars.
Brigham Young striker Gideon George (5) fires a 3-point shot as BYU and Westminster play at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday December 29, 2021. BYU won 65-53. (Photo: Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
It found each and every one of them was necessary on a night when the Cougars were understaffed and BYU only got 9 points on the 3-of-9 shooting with five rebounds and five assists from the otherwise much more prolific Alex Barcello.
George and Erickson, however, made up for the reluctant attacking numbers of BYU’s biggest stars. George, the senior from Minna, Nigeria, shot 6 for 10 off the field with five 3-pointers while Erickson was 4 of 7 with a pair of 3-pointers, two rebounds, an assist and a nasty dunk that made for a rare breakout took care of the announced 15,808 spectators in the first home game of the Cougars since December 8th.
“I’m really proud of the team tonight, the way we played,” said George. “We didn’t do some of the things the coaches said, but I’m super proud of the team and super proud of Hunter Erickson for promotion. He was always ready and his name was mentioned tonight and him grew up.” I’m really looking forward to Hunt; everyone showed him love. “
Lewis Johnson, the Viewmont High Grad who moved from Utah Valley, had 13 points and four rebounds to lead Westminster, which shot just 34% out of the field but beat the Cougars 38-37.
His fellow student Ryan Bell added 11 points for the Griffins, and senior Matt Kitzman provided 8 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Led by outstanding performances from @GideonOmohkudu and @hunterericksonn, @BYUMBB let it rain and shot 45% (14/31) behind the bow in a 65-53 win over Westminster βοΈπ
The Cougs start the conference game next week. # BYUHOOPS | # GoCougspic.twitter.com/eSIIXXCo2W
– BYUtv Sports (@byutvsports) December 30, 2021
BYU held onto a 29-24 half-time cross after shooting just 37%, including 4 of 13 from 3-point range. The Griffins shot only 32%, but rebound and defensive failures resulted in Pope using the word “pathetic” during a break, adding that the defense scheme was “dysfunctional” in a half-time interview with BYUtv.
It got better – they should have, considering the enemy. But that only came when BYU pulled off with a 12-3 run in the middle of the second half and took a 46:32 lead 11:25 after Knell hit his second shot of the game.
That followed a three-minute goal drought by the Griffins, rescuing the Cougars while on attack efficiency, and BYU never lagged behind as they beat Westminster at 20:16 in the suit and 31:23 from the bank.
“We have a lot of people to contribute, and we’re going to need every one of them,” said Pope, who steps into the WCC game that includes four teams that are in the NET top 50 and five in the top 50 100 are placed. βEvery type will be decisive.
“We have a lot of people we can count on and trust and we will need them.”
Remarks
Westminster entered what was planned as an exhibition competition for the Division II side, with 5-6 overall and 3-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game. … The Griffins had to do without leading scorer Yusuf Mohamed, the five-year-old who averaged 17.3 points per game but was stuck in his home town of Seattle due to weather and flight cancellations. … The Cougars Were Without Bank Sparks Spencer Johnson and Seneca Knight, who live with a seemingly unrelated COVID illness on a daily basis. … Westminster is returning to the RMAC game with back-to-back games, starting on Friday in the New Mexico Highlands and on Saturday in UC-Colorado Springs. … BYU is currently slated to open its conference game against Pacific on January 6th, followed by a home game against Saint Mary’s on Saturday.
Γ
Comments are closed.