BYU vs. San Diego State Postgame Notes

Harding-layup-SDSUHarding-layup-SDSU

BYU vs. San Diego State Box Score

BYU vs. San Diego State Game Recap

Individual Notes

Jake Toolson finished the game with 18 points, a new career high at BYU. His collegiate career high is 27 which he scored against Idaho State in 2017 while playing for Utah Valley.

Alex Barcello tied his career high with three steals in the game. He also totaled 11 points with two rebounds.

Connor Harding went a perfect 4 of 4 at the charity line, tying his career-high for free-throws made. He also had nine points with two rebounds and two assists.   

Kolby Lee went a perfect 3-3 in free throws in the game. He has made six this season after making three all of last season

Team Notes

In the first half, BYU was 83.3 percent from the free-throw line going 10 for 12. 

On the game the Cougars shot 44.6 percent from the field and 81.3 from the charity stripe.

Quotes

BYU head coach Mark Pope

"Super super disappointing outcome to this game. I’m proud of my guys' fight. We weren’t quite smart enough to figure some things out – I’m talking about me. We just have to get better. Our competitiveness was outstanding. Our fight was great. We’re going to get better every day."

On the difference down the stretch
"There was a lot. We could not grab a rebound. We got a little sticky offensively. The whole first half we were a little sticky. Clearly, it started with just rebounding the ball. We got out-rebounded by 16. The boards were just a massive issue. A stop doesn’t stop unless you get a board. I need to find some solutions for our team where we can actually function there. A coach’s job is not to tell his team what to do. A coach’s job is to put it inside them so that it becomes a part of them. I failed to do that tonight. I’ll do a better job. There were defining rebounds that we couldn’t come up with that we have to come up with. We are going to become a great team, but we have to find a way to rebound the ball with a mob mentality."

"Obviously number 20 was a real issue for us, just finding him. That’s a problem with me, having my team disciplined enough to understand what’s happening. You can tell your guys, 'This guy is getting no more shots.' That’s not a coach’s job. A coach’s job is to put it inside their DNA."

On Jake Toolson
"I think Jake is awesome. His intensity was great. His competitiveness was beautiful. He has parts of his game that he can grow. He needs to help us more on the glass. Alex Barcello needs to help us on the glass. TJ needs to help us on the glass. In terms of his poise, he was awesome. We’re going to need him to grow his game and he will. I’ve been with him for a long time and he rises to the occasion. He helps his team rise up."

On BYU's 21-3 run
"Well, it wasn’t big in this game because we ended up losing. I hope it’s good to teach us. We know what we have to be as a team right now. It’s just a question as to how long it’s going to take us to believe it. We have to be a team that plays with pace and has ball movement. That 21-3 run is really important if we will look at it and say, 'That’s who we want to be.'"

Jake Toolson
“We knew it was going to be a fight and we responded in the second half, but we have got to rebound better and there are some things that we need to clean up. I feel like we did fight and so I am happy with the way we fought.”

“We weren’t playing with the same pace and force as we were when we came out in the second half. We were getting good looks, but down the stretch some weren’t falling and we need to get to the free throw line.”
 
Zac Seljaas
“It’s a team game and we are all here as a team. It doesn’t matter about me or about Jake, it’s about us. Whoever is scoring, it’s BYU that’s scoring and that’s what we do and that’s what we will always be like.”

“When we have that pace offensively and we have baskets going in it gets the energy going on defense and it’s us being able to get stops and rebounds. We’ve got to keep going and fighting defensively."

"I think that we learned that we have the fight in us and we can come out and go through adversity and be able to fight together as a team. We just have to keep going and learn through this game and just get better every day.”