Alex Barcello Scores Career-High As BYU Takes Down Pepperdine

PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball is now on a two-game winning streak after taking down Pepperdine 91-85 in Malibu on Saturday night. A high-scoring game saw both teams shoot well above their averages.

BYU shot 64% and Pepperdine knocked down 59% of their shots. But it was BYU who came out on top thanks to a career night from Alex Barcello.

BYU got valuable contributions from Caleb Lohner, Spencer Johnson, and Te’Jon Lucas to notch another victory in the win column of their NCAA Tournament resume. Coming into the game, BYU was projected as the last team in the field of 68 for ESPN’s Joe Lunardi in his bracketology. So it was a must-win for BYU, and they came away victorious. Here’s a recap of what took place in BYU’s six-point win over the Waves.

Alex Barcello shines in the first half

BYU struggled early without freshman forward Fousseyni Traore. Traore suffered an injury in the final minute of overtime in the win against LMU on Thursday. The one-win Waves in WCC play, who were starting four freshmen, jumped out to an early eight-point lead at 27-19 at the first half’s midway point.

#BYU’s Alex Barcello scores 22 points in the first half to lead the way for the Cougars.@BYUMBB – 48@PeppBasketball – 38#BYUHoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/8EwabMNo1J

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 13, 2022

BYU guard Te’Jon Lucas was called for two fouls before the first media timeout to make matters more complicated.

But BYU star guard Alex Barcello took the game over and swung things in favor of the Cougars. Pepperdine made the grave mistake of giving the nation’s top shooter wide-open three-point attempts. Barcello capitalized, knocking down his first five three-pointers. He made six total in the first 20 minutes of the game to give himself 22 points through the first half.

First half pics📸📸 pic.twitter.com/rBPLLWHxzo

— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 13, 2022

Once Barcello started to find his shot, his supporting cast began finding their shot as well. Forward Caleb Lohner, who stepped in at the five spot for the injured Traore, knocked down a corner three.

Spencer Johnson and Trevin Knell also knocked down threes to put BYU at 9-of-15 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

BYU went into the halftime locker room, scoring 48 points, showing the potential of this offense when they hit their shots.

Second Half

Pepperdine wouldn’t go down easy as the Waves cut BYU’s halftime lead of 10 down to two. Then Caleb Lohner had some of his best offensive possessions this season. The preseason All-WCC team selection scored three consecutive buckets and showed a ton of confidence in his offense.

Final: @BYUMBB 91, @PeppBasketball 85#BYU improves to 19-8 overall this season, 7-5 in WCC play.#BYUHoops #GoCougs

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 13, 2022

BYU appeared set to pull away from Pepperdine as they jumped out to a game-high 13-point, but the Waves had a run in them. After a minute of action, the Waves reeled off an 8-0 run to trail 66-61, forcing Mark Pope to call a timeout with 12:26 remaining.

Alex Barcello’s hot shooting carried over into the second half. Barcello reached a career-high when he buried a three with 11:59 left in the game. It was the first time that Barcello reached 30-plus points in a game.

BYU maintained the lead throughout the second half, keeping the Waves at bay. The Waves got as close as three points, but then Te’Jon Lucas took over with seven consecutive points for BYU. Pepperdine’s Houston Mallette did everything he could to get the Waves on top, but it wasn’t enough. Mallette finished with 31 points in the game.

Alex Barcello finished with a game-high 33 points to lock up the win for BYU, who now improve to 19-8 overall and 7-5 in West Coast Conference play.

Next Up

BYU returns to action next Saturday when they go back on the road to face Saint Mary’s in Moraga. One of BYU’s top NCAA Tournament resume wins was a victory over the Gaels in Provo back in January.

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. 

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