Caleb Lohner Puts Together Career Night As BYU Steamrolls Through Pacific

PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball didn’t need an extra basketball this time around against Pacific. The Cougars rolled through Pacific, a quadrant two opponent in the NET rankings, on the road to the tune of an 80-52 victory.

#BYU rolls through Pacific on Caleb Lohner's career night.#BYUHoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/dSJ93sGYlv

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 19, 2021

With the win, BYU now improves to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in West Coast Conference play. BYU beat Pacific in basically every phase of the game against the Tigers who forced BYU to a double-overtime game back on January 30th.

Live notes and recap throughout the game from BYU’s 28-point victory.

Last time #BYU faced Pacific, Lohner missed a pair of free throws to send the game into overtime.

This time around against UofP, Lohner scores a career-high 19 points and pulls down nine rebounds.

Big-time performance from the young freshman.#BYUHoops @kslsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) February 19, 2021

2nd Half

BYU 80, Pacific 52 (FINAL): Mark Pope was able to clear out his bench and bring in players like Brandon Warr, Jesse Wade, and Hunter Erickson into the game. Former starter Kolby Lee also saw his only action of the game at the end of the blowout.

To crush a Quad 2 (NET) team like this on the road should bode well for #BYU on the advanced metrics. This has been a beat down against Pacific. #BYUHoops @kslsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) February 19, 2021

BYU 69, Pacific 44 (3:54): Everything is working for BYU tonight. The Cougars are shooting 45.8 from the field, 43.5 from three. BYU has hit 10 three-pointers while Pacific has only hit two this game. Dominating your opponent was a calling card that helped BYU rise up the advanced metrics to No. 9 in the final NET rankings. This type of performance against a Quad 2 team on the road only strengthens BYU’s resume.

BYU 63, Pacific 40 (6:48): Lohner now has a career-high 19 points and is knocking on the door of his first career double-double as a BYU Cougar. BYU has suffocated Pacific on the defensive end. Last time in Provo the Tigers were finding success from deep. It’s gone sideways for them this time with BYU’s length causing problems.

BYU 58, Pacific 35 (11:41): Caleb Lohner is having a career-night. He knocked down two more three-pointers as he buried his first five three-pointers. Everything is falling for Lohner and the Cougars as they jump out to a game-high 23 point lead.

BYU 50, Pacific 35 (14:33): Last time against Pacific, BYU squandered a double-digit lead and let the Tigers get back in the game. The Cougars set the tone early in the second half by extending their lead to 15 points.

A big swing of events was Pacific’s Jervay Green being called for a technical foul after BYU made a field goal. Cougars kept possession and Brandon Averette buried a three to give BYU a five-point possession.

Halftime Observations

 

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1st Half

Caleb Lohner is beginning to take flight as a star of this #BYU team. ⭐️ ✈️

Lohner has 10 points at the half.@BYUbasketball – 38 @PacificMensBB – 26

Halftime#BYUHoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/fDMzyXCccF

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 19, 2021

BYU 38, Pacific 26 (0:00): 

BYU 34, Pacific 22 (2:34): Trevin Knell knocked down a pair of three-pointers off the bench, including one that resulted in a four-point play.

#BYU’s Trevin Knell with a 4-point play.
👁 👄 👁 #BYUHoops #GoCougs

🎥: @BYUbasketball pic.twitter.com/NfAUqJD2Ab

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 19, 2021

BYU 22, Pacific 19 (7:44): As they did in Provo, Pacific started to heat up from beyond the arc. Typically a mid-range team, the Tigers found some success from three with a pair of treys from Broc Finstuen and Jordan Bell. BYU kept the Tigers at bay to maintain a three-point lead.

To this point of the game, BYU is shooting 28 percent from three (2-7). Matt Haarms continues to have a nice game after his field goal-less performance against Gonzaga 10 days ago. Haarms had a monstrous dunk that was audible during the TV broadcast before the media timeout.

BYU 16, Pacific 13 (11:46): A little bit of back-and-forth play right now. Caleb Lohner continues to have a fast start. The true freshman buried his second three-pointer and is up to eight points. Only three players have scored so far for BYU. Lohner (8), Haarms (4), Harward (4).

That's two thus far @caleblohner 😎#BYUhoops x #MACU3 pic.twitter.com/1OUqzRfClH

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) February 19, 2021

BYU 9, Pacific 7 (15:29): Good start for BYU as they shot 50 percent from the field in the opening minutes. Caleb Lohner, who started out the season missing his first 13 three-pointers, continues to improve from deep. Lohner knocked down a three to give BYU an early lead.

Gideon George picked up two quick fouls in the first two minutes of the game. After George went out, Trevin Knell immediately stepped into the game.

BYU/Pacific: Pregame

BYU rolls with the same starting lineup for the third consecutive game. The lineup consists of Alex Barcello, Brandon Averette, Gideon George, Caleb Lohner, and Matt Haarms.

TOGETHER 🤞 pic.twitter.com/PouII6YDWB

— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) February 19, 2021

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m., KSL Newsradio). Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper and the KSL Sports app.