Due to interruptions related to COVID-19 involving other teams, it was two weeks ago that BYU won a game, and it has been ten days since the Cougars played a game.
Many wondered how BYU would perform on the road in the Spanos Center on Thursday night.
Let’s just say that the Cougars do not have to squeak past the Pacific on January 30 in Provo in a double overtime victory.
This time, first-year forward Caleb Lohner became just one rebound from a double-double, scoring a career-high 19 points and pulling down nine boards, while BYU pulverized the Tigers 80-52.
After beating the no. 1 Gonzaga fell, the Cougars spent their lengthy dismissal to clear up their shortcomings, which were exposed by the Zags. And they were looking forward to more successful outings.
‘This is exactly what I envisioned. “The last ten days we did not play, we worked so hard, ‘Lohner told the BYU Radio Network. “Many teams in the country are not training that hard at the moment. There are all these big gaps in not playing games. I think we really took advantage of that time. We just got better. I think it showed everything on the court this morning – our offense, our defense, the rebound of the ball, in the right places and the simple game. I’m really proud of this team tonight. ”
Lohner hit 6 of 8 shots off the floor, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
The 6-foot-8, 230-pound native of Dallas began the season missing his first 11 three-pointers. On Thursday, he looked a bit like Jake Toolson or TJ Haws from the 3-point line.
“He’s a special young man. “As he goes through his career, the whole country will get to know him,” coach Mark Pope told the CBS Sports Network about Lohner. ‘He’s obviously spectacular on the track. He learns and grows and is so eager every day. As a man off the court, he is actually ten times more fascinating. I’m very proud of him tonight. We expected him to make a leap by the end of the season, and he certainly does. ‘
As a team, the Cougars hit 13 of 27 three-pointers. Trevin Knell came off the bench to make 4 of 6 3-points and he finished with 15 points. Oddly enough, BYU shot 13 of 27 from 2-point range and 13 of 27 from 3-point range.
‘Trevin was great tonight. “He came into the rotation a little earlier than usual due to (Gideon George)’s bad problems and he reacted really well, ‘Pope said. ‘I love Trev when he has a chip on his shoulder. This is when he performs at his best. ”
During one half-time in the second half, Lohner scored three three-pointers in a row, extending BYU’s lead from 52-35 to 61-36.
Lohner’s only field goal of the night, which was not a three-pointer, came with 13 seconds left in the first half. He was walking quickly on the floor when guard Brandon Averette threw him an alley that lohner summarily hit home to give the Cougars a 38-24 lead.
“The game in transition was great,” Pope said. “His athleticism is extraordinary. We see his athletics over and over. He came up with some incredibly offensive setbacks that you won’t see at any level in college basketball. ”
In the previous game against the Pacific, with the game tied at 64-piece, Lohner missed two free throws by another 3.2 seconds. Not long after the game ended, he stayed in the Marriott Center and spent a lot of time shooting.
This is part of Lohner’s impressive work ethic.
“He works so hard. He gets up countless shots before and after practice. He is in the movie room every day and tries to learn individually, ‘Pope said. ‘You have to keep putting it in you until it eventually becomes something that is second nature. He had some second nature moments tonight. It was amazing. … He gave you a little sense of who he might be. He is quite special. ‘
In the loss to Pacific against Loyola Marymount last Saturday, Jeremiah Bailey scored a career-high 28 points. Against BYU he was recorded at 0 or 6 shotless.
“The best thing Lohner did tonight was his defensive performance,” Pope said. ‘We’ve been talking about Jeremiah Bailey all week this past week. He has hosted a show the last two games. He caught fire. Caleb was defensively healthy all night. It is not easy. ”
“We were quite alert to Bailey,” Lohner said. ‘It was a very important topic in practice this week and the ways to stop him, because he was on the roll. We did a good job of it. ‘
With the win, BYU improved to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in the West Coast Conference game. Pacific dropped to 6-7 and 3-6.
According to Pope, the key to victory was the way Averette and Alex Barcello orchestrated the offense. They handed out a total of 12 assistants and they scored only twice. Barcello finished with 15 points, five assists and three posts, while Averette added 10 points and seven assists.
Matt Haarms scored eight points, tackled seven rebounds and set the tone early in the first minutes of the game.
“Matt Haarms was amazing tonight,” Pope said. “His minutes were incredible. His physicality was not in the rankings to start the match. ”
More than anything, Pope loved to see the energy and aggression in his team after enduring a long period of not playing games.
‘I’m so incredibly proud. “What they have been doing for the past ten days has been very difficult,” he said. ‘There has been a lot of emphasis on three key areas where we feel we are lacking – physicality, communication and the protection of the ball. The guys excelled in all three areas tonight against a very good team. ”
“I’m proud of how we responded to the huge gap,” Lohner said. “We started off and the whole game we kept watching. There was no interruption. I’m really proud of how we came out after not playing for a while. ”
BYU visits Loyola Marymount Saturday.