LOS ANGELES – BYU men’s basketball hit a program record 18 3-pointers and the Cougars pulled away in the second half to claim a 77-54 win over Loyola Marymount Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion.
“I thought our guys did a great job, especially in the second half,” BYU head coach Mark Pope said. “These guys are trying to make plays for each other and it’s beautiful. We are watching something that’s never happened in the history of BYU and we are really lucky to watch it.”
Alex Barcello recorded 18 points as he went 6 of 8 from the field, all from beyond the arc. The six 3s are a career best for Barcello. The guard also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. TJ Haws tallied 17 points, three assists and two rebounds. Jake Toolson and Yoeli Childs followed with nine points apiece.
The Lions scored the first two baskets of the game, but a slow offensive start by both teams resulted in an 8-6 LMU lead six minutes into the game. Following a timeout, Toolson buried a 3-pointer to give the Cougars their first lead of the game and a Barcello trey gave BYU a 12-8 advantage with 11:39 on the clock.
Six-straight points returned the lead to the Lions, 14-12. However, Haws and Toolson scored back-to-back buckets from beyond the arc to bring the score to 18-14 with under eight minutes to play in the first half.
Another trey by Haws and three points from the charity stripe gave the Cougars a 29-22 lead. An LMU bucket in the paint slowed the run down, but a 3-point play by Haws sent BYU into the locker room with a 32-24 lead. The Cougars shot 37.0 percent from the field in the first half compared to the Lions’ 52.4 percent.
Once again Loyola Marymount scored the first buckets of the half after hitting a 3-pointer and a layup in the first minute after the break. BYU answered with an 18-2 run that included a pair of Barcello 3-pointers and back-to-back treys by Haws as the Cougars extended their lead to 50-31 with 12:12 remaining in the game, forcing a timeout by the Lions.
Following the timeout, LMU scored a layup but Zac Seljaas went on to score eight-consecutive points – including two 3-pointers – to add to the BYU lead, 58-35.
The Lions went on a 7-0 run before Connor Harding hit a bucket from beyond the arc to quiet the LMU defense. With 5:22 on the clock, Barcello buried his fifth 3-pointer of the night to bring the score to 67-46.
The Cougars closed the game with three more buckets from beyond the arc from three different players, including the record-setting 18th by Evan Troy.
On the game, the Cougars shot 43.1 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from 3 and 64.3 percent from the charity stripe. The Lions recorded 51.1 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from beyond the arc and 60.0 percent from the free-throw line.
