BYU Basketball Referenced In Latter-day Saint General Conference
Apr 4, 2022, 11:56 AM | Updated: 12:02 pm
Brigham Young Cougars guard Alex Barcello (13) puts up a 3-point shot as BYU and Pacific play in an NCAA basketball game in Provo at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022. BYU won 73-51. (Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – Who knew a BYU basketball game against Pacific in January would be a talking point at General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That’s what happened on Sunday as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Russell M. Nelson made a subtle reference to that game.
Now, keep in mind this isn’t the Pacific game that BYU lost, which sunk their NCAA Tournament chances. This was the game they won, 73-51, back on January 6.
👀 what a finish to the first half!
Spencer Johnson is a winning player. End of story.
Let’s not forget these two points he stole right before the horn sounded as the Cougars only lead by 4.
@kslsports #BYU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/ekxsdbVJmk
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) January 7, 2022
BYU basketball earns reference in General Conference
Down 31-30 with five seconds remaining in the first half, BYU scored a quick five points by Alex Barcello and Spencer Johnson to close out the first period. It was that sequence that warranted praise from the Prophet himself during the Sunday morning session of General Conference.
President Nelson sent out a call to action to members of the Church to end personal conflicts that are currently “raging in your hearts and in your lives.”
“May I underscore this call to action by discussing a concept I was reminded of recently, while watching a basketball game,” said President Nelson. “In that game, the first half was a seesaw battle. Back-and-forth. And during the last five seconds of the first half a guard on one team made a beautiful three-point shot. With only one second left his teammate stole the inbound pass and made another basket at the buzzer. So that team went into the locker room four points ahead with a palpable surge of momentum. They were able to carry that momentum into the second half and win the game.”
That momentum did carry over for BYU as the Cougars outscored Pacific by 18 points in the second half to cruise to a dominant victory.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Russell M. Nelson discussed “Spiritual Momentum”
President Nelson then continued his talk by discussing the “the power of spiritual momentum,” which you can listen to below.
BYU hooper Spencer Johnson was excited for the reference in a talk
BYU guard Spencer Johnson, a member of the Church, who has one more year of eligibility remaining in his collegiate career, shared an Instagram post that showed President Nelson’s talk accompanied by the highlights from that sequence in the BYU-Pacific game. Johnson wrote, “A prophetic shoutout.”
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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.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
