FILE — BYU’s ahead Fousseyni Traore (45) celebrates with teammate Rudi Williams (3) throughout a timeout as BYU and Utah play on the Marriott Middle in Provo on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. Scott G Winterton, Deseret Information
SAN DIEGO — Late Thursday night time, after struggling a disappointing loss at Loyola Marymount Thursday, BYU gamers and coaches boarded the group bus headed for “America’s Best Metropolis” for a protracted journey south.
In Los Angeles, the Cougars had simply watched their seven-game successful streak come to an unceremonious finish. Would their season go south? There loads of time for reflection and self-evaluation.
So how would BYU reply?
Saturday, the Cougars bounced again in spectacular style in opposition to San Diego — holding the Toreros to underneath 50 factors, 31.6% taking pictures from the ground, and three of 23 from 3-point vary — in a dominating 68-48 victory at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
“It feels good as a result of proper after the Thursday loss, coach stated there was no time for us to really feel sorry for ourselves,” stated guard Rudi Williams, who scored 13 factors, pulled down six rebounds and dished out 4 assists. “We received out of L.A. fast after which we received on the bus to prepare for this (recreation). So no one actually hung their heads or felt sorry for themselves. We dropped one. Oh, nicely. We moved on to the subsequent one.”
And that’s precisely how the Cougars performed.
Friday, coach Mark Pope and his workers labored to assist the gamers get into the suitable way of thinking, borrowing the phrases of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
“The gravity of the world simply desires to drag you away and get you distracted,” Pope stated. “We performed a Kobe Bryant quote for the group that we talked about for a very long time about all of the issues that wish to pull you away from the purity of simply making an attempt to win as a group. I believed the blokes responded nicely. It might have been very easy for them to come back to this recreation with not their greatest power however that they had terrific power.”
The Cougars took management early, thanks largely to their defensive efficiency. After falling behind 8-7, they went on a 20-2 run to take a 27-10 benefit.
Throughout that stretch, six totally different Cougars scored whereas the Toreros went 0 of 14 from the sphere and have been held scoreless for greater than 10 minutes.
“Gideon George received us began. He hasn’t at all times finished this, however he received us began on the defensive finish with nice transition ‘D’ and hole ‘D’ effort actually early,” Pope stated. “It form of sucked the remainder of the group into that. I believed he was terrific. You’ve received to recommit on daily basis however they’re actually making an attempt to make this about this group.”
What was the important thing to operating up an enormous lead on San Diego within the first half?
“There have been loads of stops. We chart kills,” Williams stated. “After we get three defensive stops in a row, and we received 12 of them in a row within the first half. That’s fairly massive for us. That led to that run, for certain.”
Coming into the sport, Pope was involved about the entire offensive weapons on San Diego’s roster.
However after the victory, he was “actually, actually pleased” about his group’s protection. Jace Townsend, who leads the Toreros in scoring (15.5 ppg), was restricted to only seven factors.
“This can be a scary, explosive offensive group,” Pope stated. “San Francisco had them down 15 or 17 factors at house and these guys turned the tables actually quick. Once they get going, they will actually, actually go. They will rating in any respect 5 positions. They've 5 starters on the ground that may rating 20 on any given night time, and do it in isolation … For our guys to perform that, I’m tremendous pleased with them.
“They missed some photographs. We didn’t give them something simple. We made it laborious for all of them night time lengthy,” he added. “We have been nice in transition protection tonight. We have been actually good at speaking ball screens … with (just a few) exceptions, I believed we have been wonderful on the defensive finish.”
Williams credited assistant coach Cody Fueger for making ready the Cougars for San Diego’s offense.
“They've loads of versatile gamers,” he stated. “We simply paid consideration to the scout. Shout out to teach Fueger. He did a very good job getting us prepared.”
Offensively, BYU performed a lot better offensively than it did in opposition to LMU, the place the Cougars appeared out of sync.
“After the LMU recreation, we watched some movie about how stagnant and straightforward we have been to protect,” Williams stated. “Coach tweaked some stuff and I really feel prefer it made a distinction.”
BYU recorded 17 assists on 24 made baskets, which is at all times a optimistic signal. And the Cougars shot 57% from the sphere within the second half.
Fousseyni Traore led BYU with 15 factors on 6 of 8 taking pictures, Atiki Ally Atiki scored a career-high 12 factors on 4 of 6 taking pictures, and Spencer Johnson completed with 10 on 3 of 5 taking pictures.
For Johnson, Saturday marked his first time within the beginning lineup since he suffered an damage in late November, changing Noah Waterman. It’s possible that Johnson will proceed to be a starter transferring ahead.
“Yeah, I feel so. He’s constantly our greatest offensive and defensive participant. He belongs there,” Pope stated. “We’ll maintain tweaking this lineup all through the entire season. We've got a lot studying and rising to do, we’ll maintain making modifications. Noah was combating a bit of shoulder damage. I feel he received by means of the sport in fairly good well being. I’m pleased with that. I believed Spence actually helped us tonight.”
For Pope, what was probably the most gratifying half about his group’s win Saturday?
“Our guys are simply making an attempt. It’s enjoyable to look at them. In some methods, we make this recreation actually laborious for ourselves as we’re simply younger,” he stated. “Endurance is tremendous essential for all of us, clearly. These guys are actually making an attempt and so they’re getting higher.”
BYU hosts No. 9 Gonzaga Thursday.
TIP-INS: Introduced attendance was 2,100 … BYU outrebounded USD 33-28 … For the sport, the Cougars shot 50% from the sphere, 4 of 15 from 3-point vary … BYU outscored San Diego 29-0 in bench factors.