PROVO, Utah – The following notes are from BYU's 65-54 win over Pepperdine on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, at the Marriott Center.
ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS: BYU leads 17-7
TEAM NOTES
No Easy Shots for the Waves in the First Half
The Cougars finished the half shooting 12-27 from the field, compared to the Dons’ 7-32. Despite forcing just three turnovers on the defensive end, BYU’s defense put the clamps on, forcing 10 straight missed shots in a span of 5:37. The defense held Pepperdine to just 1-18 from the field in 11:19 of game time. Coming into tonight’s game, Pepperdine had averaged 41 first half points through its first three conference games.
Second Half Highlights
While Barcello and Haarms didn’t have their normal offensive productivity, they came up big for the Cougars when it mattered most. After the Waves mounted a furious comeback with a 13-2 run midway through the second half, Barcello responded with two made free-throws to push BYU’s lead to five.
Seconds later, Connor Harding came up big with a steal and an offensive rebound that set up Matt Haarms’ shot-clock-beating jumper, giving the Cougars a seven-point lead with under two minutes remaining.
Though the offense struggled at times in the second half, the Cougar defense made up for it, holding Pepperdine scoreless over the final 4:50. Three of Haarms’ four blocks on the night came in the second half, as did key steals from Barcello and five of Connor Harding’s career and team-high ten rebounds.
A Game of Droughts
After a stretch where Pepperdine made just one of 18 shot attempts in the first half, BYU was held to 1-14 from the field during a 15-2 run by the Waves. BYU answered by going on an 8-0 run to close out the game on its way to an 11-point victory.
Collection of Defensive Kills
BYU finished the night with eight kills. Three consecutive stops on the defensive end equal one kill.
Answering the Call
The Cougars’ leading scorer Alex Barcello was held in check, scoring his first basket with 2:43 to go in the game. Averaging 10 points per contest, fellow guard Brandon Averette scored 15 to lead the team. Sharp-shooter Trevin Knell added a career-high 12 points, going 4-7 from deep.
Back-to-back Games Against the Waves
BYU gets the rare opportunity to play the Waves again in the back half of a two-game set on Wednesday, Jan. 27. BYU has won six straight in the series.
Notable career highs/career firsts
Career-high points: Knell (12)
Career-high rebounds: Harding (10)
Career-high rebounds: Averette (tied, 6)
PLAYER NOTES
Guard Trevin Knell
Trevin Knell set a new career-high in points, scoring 12. Knell shot 50% from the field and also pulled down two rebound and had an assist. In his fourth career start, Knell tied for the third most minutes played for BYU, with 24 minutes played.
Guard Connor Harding
Like Knell, Connor Harding had a career night, collecting a career-high 10 rebounds and dishing out three assists. Harding provided an important 24 minutes for the Cougars off the bench.
Guard Brandon Averette
Brandon Averette shot 6-11 from the floor, scoring a team-high 15 points and tying a career-high with six rebounds. Averette added five assists and finished the night with a team high +/- at +19.
COACH AND PLAYER QUOTES
Head coach Mark Pope
Thoughts on the game …
“How awesome was that? This Pepperdine team is so good. They are just so dangerous. Anytime you have a team with a veteran guy like Colbey Ross, whose been one of the top point guards in the league over the last three or four years, it’s problematic because he can beat you in so many ways. They’re so physical. We’re super grateful for the win.”
On Connor Harding’s contributions tonight …
“Connor Harding comes up with ten rebounds today. He could’ve checked out two weeks ago when I benched him. He played twenty-four minutes, comes up with ten rebounds, and he’s just ever-present doing whatever he can.”
On Matt Haarms tonight …
“I’m so proud of Matt Haarms. How good was his rim protection tonight? I kid you not, there were people in the stands who were ducking because they thought (when he blocked the shot), the ball was going to come hit them in the head.”
Assistant coach Chris Burgess
Statement on winning the game with defense …
“What a hard-fought, ugly, defensive battle. One of those slugfests. Our guys found a way to win on the defensive end. That’s how we’ve been doing it this year. We missed some good shots tonight. But they never let that affect them on the defensive end. Pepperdine went on a run, but Matt Haarms was still protecting the rim. They’re winning it on the defensive end, and they’re enjoying it.”
Guard Trevin Knell
On what put BYU on top ...
“We finished the game with eight kills—a kill for us is three stops in a row. We focused on defense—Kessler started to heat up in the second half, and my man Kolby Lee came out, and he started guarding, we got great stops, and we played more as a team. I feel like when they went on their run, I don’t know if we were gassed, or worried about the offensive end, but at the end, we played more as a team, and I feel like it was a defining win for us tonight.”
On playing back-to-back games against Pepperdine ...
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge. I feel like they are going to be hungry for a win, and we’re going to their place. It’s definitely going to be different to play away from your home spot, but we’re ready. We’ve cracked the top 30, so I feel like this is a defining win, and we’re going to keep going—we love these types of games. We don’t want to blow a team out, we want games that are close, which can help us grow as a team and be ready for tournament time.”
Guard Brandon Averette
On the game’s lack of flow ...
“It was kind of a weird game. After coming off the road and playing such a physical two road games, and the refs letting us play a lot, the refs tonight were a little picky with their calls. They were calling pretty much everything, and from that vantage point, it was definitely an adjustment we had to make. I think we were in the double bonus in the first half. Trying to guard without fouling was probably the biggest difference. I feel like down the stretch we were able to get stops and send guys into Matt, and make them make hard shots over him, and it worked out for us in the end, so it was good.”
On how his role changed following Barcello’s injury ...
“I tried to be aggressive even before he chipped his tooth, but after, we definitely huddled up as a team and said, “Let’s go do this for our brother, he just knocked his teeth out.” It definitely gave us a little push as a team, and I definitely felt like I had to handle a little more stuff, just because A.B. was out for a little bit. We played great as a team together, and I think this was a great team win.”