BYU Guardian Spencer Johnson celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer against Missouri State on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at JHQ Arena in Springfield, Missouri. (Preston Crawley, BYU Photo)
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PROVO – Perhaps no game exemplifies what the 12th-placed BYU men’s basketball team had to do to steal a Quad-1 win in Missouri state than Te’Jon Lucas on defensive mid-second half.
Isaac Haney grabbed Caleb Lohner while the runner-up was working the ball, grabbed his bag, and immediately ran the other way.
But he wasn’t fast enough to overtake Lucas, who got up on Haney’s layup attempt and blocked a safe transition basket with 8:59 minutes to go. For his part, Lohner then slowed the rebound and Lucas dropped a 3-pointer on the other end to increase the Cougars’ lead to 55:49 in nine minutes.
Dejected and dirty after a staggering road loss in the Utah Valley just three days earlier, BYU had a big run against the Bears, survived a big comeback bid, and relied on defense for a pivotal bounceback win to make the 7-1 start of the Preserve Cougars.
Lucas scored 17 points to go with three rebounds, two assists and two blocks; and Alex Barcello added 21 points and four steals when BYU held 74-68 State 74-68 at JHQ Arena in Springfield, Missouri, Missouri State on Saturday afternoon.
Spencer Johnson had 12 of his 14 points and six rebounds from the bench in the first half, Lohner collected 10 points and six rebounds for the Cougars.
“It was a hard-won win,” Lucas told BYU Radio. “Missouri State is a great team and we were a little understaffed. We just had to react and recover from a tough game.”
Jaylen Minnett led the Bears (4-4) by 19 points, Gaige Prim added 17 points and six rebounds, and Lu’cye Patterson had 16 points, four rebounds and two assists for Missouri State, which is KenPom’s latest with the. on the 80 loss.
Defensively, the Cougars kept Isiah Mosley, who came into the game in second place in the country with 18.3 points per game, goalless in just seven minutes.
The cougars feel it from beyond the arch! You end the first half with a 19-8 run. @ BYUMBBpic.twitter.com/ykrdKWwJx6
– CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 4, 2021
His offensive numbers popped up from the side. But Lucas was just as firmly in control on the defensive, head coach Mark Pope quickly realized.
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“It’s like he just took everything and pushed it aside. I thought he was amazing,” said Pope. “He was great, as was everyone on our team tonight.
“And his defense in the final minutes of the first half – talk about the tone of the task. It was so much Te’Jon. “
With Gideon George recovering from a non-COVID-19 illness at home and having a flat lineup after starting with no starting center Gavin Baxter (ACL) and Richard Harward (cardiovascular problem), the Cougars went small to the game to start. Trevin Knell made his first career start, joining Seneca Knight on the wing, while Caleb Lohner played significant minutes in fifth place.
“We just had to control what we could control,” said Lucas, who scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the second half. “We were understaffed, but with the 10-11 guys we had, we just have to keep fighting with those we had. We couldn’t focus on people who weren’t here.
“Lots of guys stood up for us. Hunter Erickson gave us a few good minutes. But we just had to control what we could control and give it our all.”
The Cougars hit five of their first nine shots from 3-point distance, including two each from Barcello and Johnson, then kept the Bears goalless for the final 6:01 before halftime on their way to a 35:27 lead at break.
“How tall has Spence been? What Spencer Johnson does every night is great,” said Pope. “He’s such a defensive force and then he slams a couple of threes too early. It was like we ran two years ago.
“Spence is playing high-level basketball right now and I’m so proud of him.”
Barcello pushed the lead to 12 less than two minutes into the second half, throwing his other foot for a Floater who took the lead at 18:16, the remaining 39:27.
But Patterson played Big Boy Bully Ball mid-way through the second half, scoring 6 points to accelerate a 16-4 run that drew the Bears within two, 45-43 on Minnett’s 3-pointers with 13:24 remaining.
From 14 to just two in just over 3 minutes, the Cougars bowed.
But they didn’t break.
The bears reduced the deficit three times to one point on the route. Each time BYU reacted before finishing the game with an 11-4 run
BYU returns home Wednesday to host the state of Utah in the Aggies’ second game in a row against a member of the West Coast Conference.
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