LOGAN, Utah — Notes and quotes from BYU's 67-64 win over Utah State on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah.
BYU–Utah State Game Notes
- BYU is now 5-1 this season while Utah State falls to 1-3.
- Utah State and BYU have now met 237 times in men’s basketball with the Cougars holding a 145-92 record over the Aggies.
- BYU had two players in double figures. Alex Barcello led the Cougars with 23 points on 6 of 8 shooting. Barcello has scored 20-plus points in four of the six game this season.
- Caleb Lohner (11) was the other Cougar in double figures. 11 points is Lohner's career-high at BYU.
- As a team, BYU had eight threes on 36% shooting from deep.
- After taking the lead at 23-22, the Cougars led for the remainder of the game. The Aggies tied it up three times in the second half, but never led again.
Next up for the Cougars
- The Cougars will face Boise State on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
- The game will tip off at 7 p.m. MST and will be televised on BYUtv.
- The Broncos are 2-1 to start the year with wins over Sam Houston State (86-55) and College of Idaho (86-49) and a loss at Houston (58-68).
- BYU and Boise State have played 14 previous men’s basketball games with the Cougars holding a 9-5 (.643) record over the Broncos.
- The series is split at 5-5 in the last 10 matchups dating back to 1996.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Mark Pope
Overall thoughts on the win
"Every time you come to Logan, it’s an adventure beyond adventures. The outcome is always 100% uncertain, unless they end up running you out of the gym. What an unbelievable performance by their team. It’s a credit to Craig [Smith] that his team can function so incredibly well without him in the building, and it’s a credit to Eric [Peterson] that he can just pick up the mantle and execute really well. Obviously, always tough to play Utah State up here. We did not play well, but we played with beautiful heart and beautiful management of frustration, everybody hanging in there. If you can just have that one piece of the game, you’re always going to have a chance to win."
On the impact of Spencer Johnson
"Spencer is really just finding a niche in this rotation. He missed our whole preseason due to a concussion. So he missed a lot of time. His ability to close space quickly is incredibly impressive. He’s been really, really solid with the ball. He got a little sideways on us in the second half because I think some fatigue broke in, but he’s played at a high level."
Alex Barcello
On preparing for Utah State
"We were stressing transition defense a lot. We were stressing rebounds a lot with the players that they have. And also, with Queda, we stressed being able to not foul him and to get rebounds off him."
On the impact the bigs had on the game
"All of our big men did a great job, I thought. I think Matt Haarms is the best rim protector in the country. The way that he was able to get a stop for us at the end, and then Caleb got a rebound — it’s just a winning mindset that these guys have, and I’m so proud of us. We have a lot to learn, like coach said in the locker room, but the way that we pulled out this win, I’m really proud of our guys."