The following notes are from BYU's 90-57 loss to No. 2 Gonzaga on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, at the Marriott Center.
ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS: Gonzaga leads 23-7
TEAM NOTES
First Half
Alex Barcello started the scoring for the Cougars in the first minute of play, followed by a 3-pointer from the top of the arc by Gideon George to put BYU up 5-0. Gonzaga went on a run, scoring the next 12 points unanswered to pull ahead of the Cougars 12-5. The biggest lead in the first half was 47-17 for the Bulldogs. BYU’s Trevin Knell and Gideon George scored back-to-back 3-pointers to close the first half, going into the locker room with a score of 47-23. Gonzaga shot 57 percent compared to BYU’s 23 percent from the field.
Second Half
The second half started slow for the Cougars as Gonzaga widened their lead to 58-34 in the first four minutes. A corner 3-pointer by Barcello brought some fire back to the team despite being behind the Bulldogs by 24 points. Gonzaga went on a 14-0 run to bring the score to a 74-36 lead for the Bulldogs with eleven minutes left in the game. The Cougars answered back with an 11-0 run over the Bulldogs with eight minutes left in regulation. Gonzaga continued to pull ahead and ended on top with a final score of 90-57. BYU shot 30 percent from the field and 23 percent from the 3-point line, while Gonzaga shot 52 percent from the field and 38 from the three.
Free Throws
After struggling from the free-throw line Thursday night against San Francisco, the Cougars improved their shooting from 48 percent to 81 percent from the free-throw line, going 9 of 11 tonight.
PLAYER NOTES
Gideon George
George was the only Cougar to score double digits in the first half, gathering 10 points. George’s 14 total points on the night were his second-highest of the season. He also finished with three rebounds and one steal.
Seneca Knight
Knight reached double figures for the eighth time this season finishing with 13 points and six rebounds.
Alex Barcello
Barcello tied his season-high of five assists. He also ended the game with nine points and three rebounds.
COACH AND PLAYER QUOTES
Mark Pope
On past four games
“We’re really being tested and we’re going to have to find some new creative answers, we’ve got to reinvent ourselves a little bit. We have some really good players, we just have to find a little bit better way to do it. Tonight we had a tough time getting down hill, we were a little bit timid, our pace has gone away and it’s complicated without [Te’Jon] because he’s a primary all handler.”
On message to his team
“This is a good team and great players. We have a lot of great basketball left in us if we will fight to take it. We just need to remind ourselves that we are good. I think these guys have faith in each other and we have a big challenge right now, but we’ll be good. The most important thing is looking inward and blocking out those voices from outside.”
“The most important message is that we keep looking inward in order to quite all the voices around us, because everybody is going to have a messages that are not the messages that are going to get us out of this, it’s really important that we look inward.”
On tournament worries
“This has really hurt us in terms of the tournament, but our destiny is still in our control. The season is about getting better and everything's still ahead of us. We have to stay focused because everything is in our control and that is a powerful thing. Our team has full power and full control over our future and that’s a great place to be.”
“Belief is everything and right now, we’re questioning ourselves and that’s the truth. We are all questioning right now and questioning is scary because it means you are fighting for your faith and your belief, but questioning is also a place you can grow. I believe we’re going to grow, that’s what we do.”