BYU Basketball: The Cougars battle through frustration in 63-45 victory over Colorado Christian

PROVO – While exhibition games are going on, this one Thursday night at the Marriott Center between BYU and the Colorado Christian Cougars, a Division II program, didn’t exactly follow the script.

At least not in the first half.

In these exhibitions, the hosting team is supposed to dominate from start to finish, right?

Well, BYU looked sluggish and out of sync for quite a while before beating Colorado Christian, who set a 4:14 record last season, at 63:45.

“We wanted to beat this team by 50. But in the course of the game we won a victory, ”said senior guard Alex Barcello. “Maybe it wasn’t what we wanted it to be. But we go back, watch films and learn from them. “

Barcello, who missed the Blue-White scrimmage last Friday due to a minor injury, finished the game with 16 points and Te’Jon Lucas added 11. Gideon George and Fousseyni Traore both had team highs of six rebounds.

“We started slowly. There was definitely frustration on the pitch, ”said Barcello. “Our focus on the defensive was there throughout the game, even when we were behind once. … The boys really locked themselves in during the game, especially in the second half. “

For manager Mark Pope, it was the kind of show his team needed before the season officially opened on Tuesday at home against Cleveland State.

“It was everything we wanted before. It was a challenge. It challenged us on the defensive, ”he said. “It’s very important for us to get a bit of frustration. I’m actually so happy about that. We look forward to getting started on Tuesday. It’s like a mid-season conference game that’s going to be a fight. ”

Five minutes after the exhibition, Center Richard Harward appeared to have injured his knee and was taken to the locker room. He later returned to the bench in the first half but didn’t play the rest of the game.

“It’s hard to see Rich fall to the ground. It was super scary and upsetting for everyone, ”said Pope. “Our bench didn’t feel right for a long time after that because you’re trying to stay focused, because you’re worried about your guy.”

Harward should be fine, Pope said, adding that he was disfellowshipped as a precaution for the rest of the game.

In the first 12 minutes, BYU only made four of its first 13 shots from the ground and one of its first seven from 3-point distance. And the cougars had seven turnovers.

BYU only took the lead for the first time after 9:08 a.m. in the first half with a layup from Lucas. BYU was 19-17 in the first half with 2:42 minutes behind.

Pope went to his bench early and often because of his team’s fights. Ten different players took the floor in the first six minutes of the game.

But BYU ended the half with a 9-2 run, including 3 consecutive 3s from Barcello and Traore’s one-handed putback just before the halftime buzzer to give BYU a 26-21 lead at break.

In the second half, Traore started instead of Harward in the second half.

Nine points in a row from George early in the second half (after being kept goalless in the first half) helped BYU, which took a double-digit lead and eventually led by up to 21.

BYU shot 57% off the ground in the second half after shooting 44% in the first half.

BYU committed 16 sales for the game.

“We have to fix that, of course,” said Pope. “We can’t pass the ball to the other team all the time. We’re getting better. “

After the end of last season so badly affected by COVID-19, Barcello enjoyed being able to play in front of an audience.

“It’s great to have fans here. It wasn’t a crowded house, but it felt good to look up and see people in the stands, ”he said. “I definitely think there was some nervousness as a team when we played in front of fans for the first time in a year or two. I think the guys reacted really well to that. “

Pope attributed some of his team’s troubles to coaches keeping the game book “super boring” so as not to show too much to future opponents before the start of the season. He also said his players feeling the adrenaline rush of the crowd may have played a role as well.

“There was a lot of baked-in frustrations that could have held these guys off a little tonight, but they focused on defensive duties all night,” said Pope. “The most important thing was to stay locked in with the frustration of flipping the ball and a few other things. That was the best tonight. “

Sixteen different players saw action for BYU on Thursday, which made Pope happy.

“It was really nice to work through the entire squad. I was very happy to get everyone on the ground, ”he said. “It’s really important. These young people work so hard every day. So it was good to get her out of there. ”