Postgame Notes & Quotes

Box Score

PROVO, Utah — BYU men’s basketball improved to 4-0 for the first time in the Mark Pope era thanks to a 97-61 victory over Central Methodist on Saturday evening at the Marriott Center. 

“For us to come out of the first two weeks 4-0, I’m really proud of that,” said BYU head coach Mark Pope. “We’re trying to hang our hat on our ability to guard and our ability to rebound. The guys were really focused on that and I thought we got better tonight.”

The Cougars saw six players score in double figures and shot 56.7 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from the 3-point line in their first-ever meeting against the Eagles. They recorded 1.49 points per possession with 36 of their season-high 97 points coming off the bench. 

BYU also grabbed 37 boards and tallied 24 assists in their second straight win over 30 points. 

Caleb Lohner led the Cougars tying a career-high with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists in the win.

Alex Barcello reached double figures for a seventh straight game as the senior finished with 16 points on 60 percent shooting, going 4-for-7 from behind the arc. He added three assists and a steal to his stat line in only 21 minutes of work.

First Half

The Cougars immediately used their size, finding Gavin Baxter and Lohner to jump out to an early 6-2 lead. The Cougars extended their lead to double digits with 14:33 to go in the first half with a three from Barcello and back-to-back buckets from Gideon George.

After two straight scores by Central Methodist, Trevin Knell scored his first points of the night with a three from the left wing. Spencer Johnson was fouled going to the rim resulting in two made free throws that put the BYU up 19-12 with 11:25 left in the first.

The Eagles scored on consecutive possessions to cut the Cougar lead to five halfway through the first half. Both teams continued to trade baskets, the Cougars maintaining a five-point lead going into the under-8 media timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, the Cougars scored on four straight possessions with a left wing three from Johnson, a scoop-and-score from Lucas, a floater off the glass and another three from Barcello to extend the lead to 14-points with 4:27 left.

The Marriott Center was sent into a frenzy when Barcello hit his third three of the first half, followed by an acrobatic layup for Seneca Knight’s first points of the game and a dunk by Baxter.

BYU took a 17-point lead heading into the break and shot 51.5 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from behind the arc.

Second Half

In the first four minutes of the second half, the Cougars and Eagles traded baskets keeping the BYU lead at 17 until Lohner stretched the lead to 20 with a strong move in the paint, finishing the and-1 at the line.

The Cougars scored 15-straight points, starting with Atiki Ally Atiki’s first points of the season on a putback dunk. On the next possession, Lucas turned the corner on his defender and tossed a lob to Baxter for the flush.

George hit a floater in the lane and Lohner scored at the rim on consecutive possessions extending the BYU lead to 32 with 10:16 left in the game.

Mark Pope dug into his bench in the last ten minutes giving Hunter Erickson and Trey Stewart their first significant minutes of the season as the Cougars held a 30-point lead throughout. He also brought in Nate Hansen and Casey Brown in the closing four minutes with both freshmen knocking down a three. 

Next up, the Cougars host Texas Southern on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Marriott Center. 

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball returns to the friendly confines of the Marriott Center on Saturday to host Central Methodist. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Saturday’s contest will be broadcast on BYUtv It will also be broadcast live on BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2 and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.

BYU Notes (3-0, 0-0 West Coast Conference)

• With their 81-49 victory over No. 12 Oregon on Tuesday at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore., the Cougars opened the season 3-0 for the first time under head coach Mark Pope.
• The 32-point victory was the largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent in program history. It also marked the first time since Nov. 29, 1993 an unranked team defeated a Top-15 opponent by more than 30 points.
• Alex Barcello scored a game-high 25 points against the Ducks going 9-of-11 from the field, 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. The senior guard has now made 38 straight from the charity stripe, the third-longest streak in program history trailing only Jimmer Fredette (39) and Tyler Haws (50).
• BYU’s bench continues to impress as it outscored Oregon, 33-6, led by Spencer Johnson and Fousseyni Traore. Johnson, playing against his younger brother, finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, including a behind-the-back pass that resulted in a dunk from Gideon George. Traore continues to fill the statsheet for the Cougs as the freshman reached double figures for the first time in his young career with 10 points.
• The Cougars are 16-0 against non-Division I opponents since 2000. Saturday’s contest will mark their second game against a NAIA opponent during that time span.

Head Coach – Mark Pope

• Alma Mater: Kentucky, 1996
• Division I Career Record: 124-71 (7th Season)
• Record at BYU: 47-15 (3rd Season)

Central Methodist Notes (7-0, 0-0 Heart of America)

• Central Methodist improved to 7-0 on the season following a 62-61 victory over Columbia College on Thursday evening.
• The Eagles are scoring 83.6 points per game this season shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from beyond the arc and 64.9 percent from the free throw line.
• Jonathan Brown, a sophomore from London, England, is scoring a team-high 17.9 points per game for the Eagles. The transfer from NCAA Division II’s Fresno Pacific scored a season-high 26 in a 84-70 win over College of the Ozarks.
• Fode Camara is a double-double machine as the Brooklyn, N.Y. native is averaging 10.4 points and 10.3 rebounds this season. He has 11 career double-doubles including a 18 points, 16 rebound performance against the University of Health Sciences.

Head Coach – Jeff Sherman

• Alma Mater: Central Methodist, 1983
• NAIA Record: 653-512 (37th season)

Series Information

• First all-time meeting

Broadcast Information

• TV: BYUtv
• TV Talent: Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler
• Radio: BYU Sports Network, BYU Radio Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2, KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM
• Streamed Audio: BYURadio.org, BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio and the BYU Radio, BYU Cougars and BYU Gameday apps
• Radio Talent: Jarom Jordan (play-by-play), Terry Nashif (analyst)
• Live stats: BYUCougars.com