SALT LAKE CITY – BYU basketball was once a one-time show with Alex Barcello, and continued Thursday night to find other options.
This time it was Caleb Lohner’s turn.
The Wasatch Academy freshman scored a career-high 19 points, including five three-pointers, to play with nine rebounds in 28 minutes when BYU won the Cougars’ first game in nearly two weeks in an 80-52 victory on Thursday. Pacific had. evening at the Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, California.
Following a 10-day undefeated layoff, Barcello added 15 points, five assists and three posts for BYU, and Brandon Averette scored 8 of his 10 points in the second half to add seven assists and three rebounds. pass. Trevin Knell contributed 15 points, including four 3s, from the bench for the Cougars (16-5, 7-3 WCC).
“This is exactly what I envisioned,” Lohner told BYU Radio. “We’ve worked so hard the last ten days not to play. I think a lot of teams in the country don’t train that hard … but I think we really made the most of the time. We determined what we needed to do. to do better, and I think we showed that we got better tonight. ‘
Matt Haarms delivered BYU 8 points and seven rebounds, scoring 13 tries and beating the Tigers 31-22.
However, no one got hotter than Lohner.
🅲🅰🅻🅴🅱 🅻🅾🅷🅽🅴🆁 💥@CBSSportsNet | @BYUbasketball#WCChoopspic.twitter.com/LPSI5m7k0P
– WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) 19 February 2021
“It just felt good, from first to second, I progressed with more and more confidence,” Lohner said. ‘I shot the ball well and knocked them all night.
“I just think we’re getting better and better. We’re working hard and finding ways to improve. I’m really proud of the way our team came together and kept getting better.”
Broc Finstuen had 12 points and two rebounds to lead the Pacific, and Jordan Bell added five points and seven rebounds for the Tigers (6-7, 3-6 WCC), just three weeks after joining BYU after the double. took overtime in Provo.
Instead, after a loss at no. 1 Gonzaga in their last outing, the Cougars have never lost the consecutive games in the second season of head coach Mark Pope.
“It’s built into the culture of how we guys react,” Pope told BYU Radio. “We wonder if it’s after every game … and the fact that they think about it all the time and that’s where their focus is, is a tribute to the guys. We have a very special group of guys.”
Lohner, who started Thursday night, saw a big touch when Gideon George was forced to the bench with early errors, and the Texas-born used it well. Lohner had 8 points, four rebounds and an assist in just seven minutes when the Cougars were 18:55 ahead 18:53.
BYU never dragged on again.
Knell put up a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer by 7:26 that put the Cougars ahead 26-19. Spencer Johnson extended the lead to double figures just under three minutes later, and BYU took a 38-26 halftime lead.
BYU made three of its first six three-point attempts to open the half, including three-tries by Barcello and Averette, to make an 8-0 run over 90 seconds to 50-33.
It’s been two so far @caleblohner 😎#BYUhoops x # MACU3pic.twitter.com/1OUqzRfClH
– BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) 19 February 2021
It did not stop there.
Lohner took his third three-pointer of the game 12:55 and pushed the Cougars’ lead to 55-35, just three weeks away from a 7-point win, double overtime in Provo over the Tigers. Moments later, the Wasatch Academy product from just outside Dallas scored its fourth triple to reach a 16-2 run – and BYU never looked back.
His only field goal from inside the arc was an alley in transition, where Lohner flaunted his hoop and helped the Cougars lead their halftime lead.
“We see his athletics over and over,” Pope said. ‘He came up with some incredible offenses … and surely the street was incredible.
“But the best thing he did tonight was his defensive performance. Caleb was defensively healthy all night, and it’s not easy. He did such a great job.”
On an evening that brought good news for two BYU basketball teams – the women’s team won no. 16 Gonzaga, 61-56 in Provo, upset. The Cougars looked like an NCAA tournament from various angles.
BYU shot 13 of 27 from the three-point series, 13 on 27 from a two-point series and assisted on 17 of 26 field goals. The Cougars also shot the Tigers up to 40% in the second half, including 0 for 7 from deep.
“I thought Trevin was great tonight,” Pope said. ‘He came into the turn earlier because of Gideon’s bad problems, but I love Trevin when he comes in with a chip on his shoulder. That’s when he’s at his best. ‘