SPOKANE, Wash. – BYU made 10 first half 3-pointers but it wasn’t enough as the Cougars dropped a 110-84 decision to No. 2 Gonzaga on Thursday evening at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.
"Gonzaga is really good. They are really good at home," said head coach Mark Pope. "We just couldn't find a defensive answer tonight. Our guys fought and competed, but we just couldn't find an answer."
The Cougars shot 43.2 percent from the field, 44.8 percent from beyond the arc and 70.0 percent from the free throw line but were outdone by Gonzaga, who became the first team to shot over 60 percent against BYU since Dec. 22, 2005.
Alex Barcello finished with a team-high 19 points as he went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, giving him 24 games with three or more 3-pointers, tied for the eighth most in program history.
Caleb Lohner also reached double figures for the fifth time this season, as he had 17 points and five rebounds, while Te’Jon Lucas chipped in 10 points of his own.
The Cougars led for 4 minutes, 12 seconds of the opening eight minutes of the first half before Gonzaga went on a 21-5 run to take control of the game. During that run, Gonzaga went 3-of-5 from 3-point range as they shot 66.7 percent from downtown in the first half.
BYU went into halftime only trailing by 13, 61-49, as Gideon George hit one of his two 3-pointers, followed by an old-fashioned 3-point play from Barcello.
Much like the opening minutes of the game, BYU started fast in the second half with five straight points, including a 3-pointer on the opening possession from Barcello. Following a miss from Chet Holmgren, Fousseyni Traore scored on a layup for the Cougars, off a nice pass from Lucas to cut the lead to seven, 61-54.
The Cougars were unable to keep the momentum going, as a dunk from Holmgren ignited a 19-6 run for the home team that pushed BYU’s deficit over 20 with less than 13 minutes remaining in regulation.
BYU returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 15, when they take on San Francisco at 9 p.m. MST. Watch the game on CBS Sports Network or listen to the play-by-play call on BYU Radio or the BYU Sports Network/KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM.