Player Notes
- Davies got BYU on the board with a short jumper with 19:21 remaining in the first half. Davies went on to record his first double-double of the season and fifth of his career with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
- Damarcus Harrison scored 8 points off the bench in the first half on 3 of 5 shooting.
- Matt Carlino scored his first points as a Cougar, a 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining in the first half. The UCLA transfer went on to sink three more treys to give him 18 points to tie for the team lead in his first BYU game.
- Hartsock scored 15 points to continue his streak of scoring in double figures every game this year.
- Charles Abouo scored 17 points, including 13 in the second half. Abouo shot 7 of 10 for the game and grabbed 9 rebounds.
Team Notes
- Head coach Dave Rose went with the starting lineup of Craig Cusick, Brock Zylstra, Charles Abouo, Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies.
- The Cougars held Baylor without a field goal for over 6 minutes in the first half and had runs of 11-0 and 10-0 to take a 42-38 lead into the break.
- BYU outrebounded the Bears 14-0 in the opening 9 minutes. Quincy Acy grabbed Baylor’s first rebound off a missed free throw with 11:22 left in the half. The Cougars held a 26-12 advantage on the boards at the half and 44-31 for the game.
- Four players scored in double figures. Carlino and Davies led the way with 18 apiece, Abouo added 17 points and Hartsock chipped in 15 points.
Game Trends
- The Cougars took their first lead of the game on a tip-in from Abouo with 12:26 left in the first half. It was part of a 11-0 run to take a 24-18 lead with 9:03 left in the first half.
- Back-to-back 3-pointers from Harrison and Zylstra along with another make from Hartsock extended BYU’s lead. Harrison then slammed home a fast-break dunk as part of a 10-0 run to give BYU a 36-24 lead with 4:21 remaining in the first half, but Baylor closed the gap to 42-38 at halftime.
- BYU came out of the gates firing in the second half, especially Abouo who scored 8 points in the first four minutes after the break to help the Cougars out to a 56-47 lead.
- Carlino scored back-to-back buckets, including a 3-pointer to take a 64-56 lead with 12:33 remaining in the game.
- After BYU got down by 9 points, Abouo sank two free-throws to trim Baylor’s lead to just 3 points with under four minutes remaining.
- Abouo laid in another bucket with 1:50 remaining bring BYU within 1 at 84-83. BYU couldn’t get any more though and fell to the Bears 86-83.
BYU Head Coach Dave Rose
“It was a great game by two really competitive teams. I thought our team competed really hard and played hard. I also think that Baylor made some terrific plays especially down the stretch. We competed and had quite a few chances but just came up short. What we need to do now is regroup and get ready for a tough couple of teams next Tuesday.”
“Turnovers in the first half hurt us. They scored almost 26 points on our turnovers. They're long, deep and athletic so they can take a lot of chances. Foul trouble isn't an issue with this team because they go so deep down the roster so they can and do play tough.”
“We had a chance but they made plays and deserve the win.”
“There were a lot of really good things that happened during the game but without the win you don't really see that.”
“This was a really talented Baylor basketball team and they're turning into a team that's now playing with a lot of confidence. Having said that, I thought we gave them a really good game and had a lot of chances to win.”
“Carlino played well but he just needs to get some experience. He needs to be in those situations. You want players to experience the moment and when it's a positive thing it gives them a lot of confidence and when it doesn't work out then it makes them work harder.”
“It was a great atmosphere. The fans were amazing. It was a good game, but I play to win so it was disappointing.”
“It was amazing, but it was a loss and that's all that people are going to remember.”
Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew
“You have to credit BYU’s team for playing outstanding in the first half. They got multiple good shot attempts and I think that was because of their heart and their toughness. It’s a good group of guys. The crowd got them going. The crowd was outstanding. The last four minutes, I was really proud of how our team responded.”
“The way Perry [Jones] was down, whenever you’ve had a previous knee injury you get concerned for any player. [Brandon] Davies showed his class by coming over and making sure he was okay. That’s one thing as a coach; no one likes to see anyone get injured. I know [Stephen] Rogers just went through an injury. You want to see people healthy. Especially when you’re competing in crunch time like this.”
“In the first half, as a team, we didn’t rebound very well or play as tough as we needed to. The second half, we looked to get Perry [Jones] the ball more and he got us going.”
“In the scouting report we got didn’t do [Matt] Carlino justice. We knew he was a good shooter, but we didn’t know he could make tough shots like that. If he can continue to do that all year long, that gives BYU another key weapon.”
Perry Jones III
“I want to give respect to the fan base here. That’s one of the top hardest places to play. They didn’t use foul language. They stayed humbled. I respect them for that and for not cussing us out like other places.”