BYU Bench Play Among Observations In Win Over San Diego

PROVO, Utah – The BYU basketball team won their fourth WCC game of the season after defeating the San Diego Toreros 79-71.

Four Cougars scored in double figures led by Alex Barcello who poured in 22 points, thirteen of them coming in the second half.

Here are my observations from a nice conference win.

1. Alex Barcello breakin’ ankles

Barcello has produced sevaral memorable moments during his time at BYU.

He added another one against the Toreros.

Mid-way through the first half Alex Barcello brought the Marriott Center crowd to it’s feet with a jaw-dropping move.

Alex Barcello just put that San Diego defender on skates. My goodness. Sent him to the floor with that move.#BYU #BYUHoops @kslsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 21, 2022

Barcello stopped on a dime and used a “step-back” move to send Bryce Monroe diving on the floor.

After taking a moment to collect himself, Barcello calmly nailed the jumper.

It’s hard to imagine where this team would be without the steady presence and shot-making ability from “AB.”

Enjoy him while he’s here BYU fans. These types of players don’t come around very often.

2. BYU basketball bench play

Head Coach Mark Pope has created a nice unit off the bench.

There are moments in games where only one starter is on the floor, which shows a tremendous amount of trust in the second unit.

The wealth of options off the bench has allowed different players to step up from game to game.

Seneca Knight is the first Cougar in double figures with the fastbreak layup.

The junior has now reached double figures in five games.#BYUHoops @BYUMBB

— BYU Game Notes (@BYUGameNotes) January 21, 2022

Against San Diego it was Seneca Knight who balled out.

He led the Cougars in scoring at the break with 12 points. He finished with 14 points along with Fousseyni Traore.

I thought it was easily his best performance as a BYU Cougar.

3. Defensive rebounding

The Cougars did an excellent job on the defensive glass outrebounding the Toreros by seven.

Fousseyni Traore led BYU in rebounding 11. Seven of those rebounds came on the defensive side.

It’s critical for the Cougars to rebound the ball well to make up for their lack of size at the center position.

The #BYU Cougars were oustanding on the glass once again.

They out-rebounded the Toreros by 10.

Four players had at least five rebounds. @kslsports #GoCougs

— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) January 21, 2022

Traore has been a pleasant surprise on the glass this season. He’s pulled down double-digit rebounds in four of his last six games.

Rebounding has been an emphasis all season, and it’s paying dividends in these close conference wins.

You can hear Matt Baiamonte every Saturday on KSL Newsradio for Cougar Sports Saturday from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. or you can find him on Twitter here.