PORTLAND – In his first start as a Cougar, Gideon George had a breakout game to help BYU to a dominant 105-60 win over Portland at the Chiles Center on Thursday night.

George finished the game with a double-double, his second of the season. The junior scored a career-high 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. He also added three assists and two steals. George's 13 rebounds were more than the entire Portland team had in the game.

Five other Cougars got to double-digit points as Matt Haarms and Brandon Averette had 15 apiece, Alex Barcello and Connor Harding had 12 each and Caleb Lohner added 11.

"This is a hard game, it's a hard time of year, it's been a hard road trip, we've been on the road for four days to play one game, and I'm just super proud of my locker room," said BYU head coach Mark Pope. "I'm super proud of what these guys are giving to the team, from the guy who had our biggest numbers tonight to the guy who had the least minutes. It's pretty special, and I'm just so full of gratitude that I get to work with these guys."

BYU was dominant down low. The Cougars outscored the Pilots in the paint 48-16, while also outrebounding Portland 46-12.

The Cougars jumped out early in the game making back-to-back buckets to open things up and only surrendered one Portland basket before taking a 7-2 lead. A 10-point run gave BYU its first double-digit lead of the game at 23-11. The Pilots brought the game within five before the Cougars pushed ahead to another double-digit lead at 36-23.

BYU increased its scoring cushion, going on a 14-point run to close the first half, as Richard Harward scored a quick jumper just before the buzzer.

Continuing their momentum into the second half, the Cougars came out flying with back-to-back baskets to extend their lead to 24 points, at 56-32. Later in the half, George started off another 14-point run with two layups, before Barcello connected on a trey and Harding also put up back-to-back layups. Trevon Knell followed it up with his third 3-pointer of the night.

BYU reached triple-digits  as Lohner made a layup which he followed up with a free throw and then hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute left in the game.

The Cougars now return home to face No. 1 Gonzaga on Monday. The game is slated for a 9 p.m. MST tipoff with live coverage on ESPN.

Box Score
Postgame Notes & Quotes

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball will face Portland (6-10, 0-7) Thursday on the road. The Cougars are coming off of grinding out a double-overtime win over Pacific last Saturday. They expected to face San Diego on Tuesday, but that game was cancelled hours before tipoff due to COVID issues on the USD side.

The BYU-San Diego game will be produced and air on Stadium at 4 p.m. PST. The Stadium broadcast can also be viewed via KJZZ-TV. The game will be broadcast live on the BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2 and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.

BYU Notes (14-4, 5-2 West Coast Conference)

• The Cougars are 14-4, most recently defeating Pacific 95-87 in double overtime.
• BYU is No. 2 in the WCC standings.
• BYU has wins over Pacific, Pepperdine, San Francisco, Saint Mary’s, Weber State, Texas Southern, No. 18 San Diego State, Utah, Utah State, St. John’s, Utah Valley, New Orleans and Westminster. The four losses were to USC, Boise State, No. 1 Gonzaga and Pepperdine.
• BYU is led by senior guard Alex Barcello who is averaging 15.4 points, 4.7 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. Barcello has been among the top three-point shooters in the nation this season, but has cooled off a bit recently. He was a driving force behind BYU's last win, flirting with a possible triple double with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. 
• Matt Haarms and Brandon Averette, BYU's other two senior leaders along with Barcello, are the next behind Barcello in scoring with 11.3 and 11.1 points per game respectively.
• BYU's bench production has been big this season, outscoring opponents in 16 of 18 games played.
• Despite coming close in its last game, BYU has never lost back-to-back games in the Mark Pope era and has the third-longest active streak of games played without consecutive losses at 52. The two teams above them are Houston (118) and Gonzaga (75).

Head Coach – Mark Pope

• Alma Mater: Kentucky, 1996
• Division I Career Record: 115-68 (6th season)
• Record at BYU: 38-12 (2nd season)

Portland Notes (2-7, 1-4 West Coast Conference)

• Portland is 6-10, after a 75-50 loss at home to Loyola Marymount on Jan. 25.
• Portland is No. 10 in the WCC standings.
• The Pilots have had their last two games postponed against Saint Mary’s and Santa Clara.
• Portland has wins this season over William Jessup, Northwest University, Portland State, Oregon State, College of Idaho and Montana State. Its losses have come to Seattle University (twice), Oregon, San Francisco (twice), No. 1 Gonzaga, Pepperdine, BYU, San Diego and Loyola Marymount.
• It’s been a season of runs for the Pilots, starting the season 6-2, including a big overtime win in Corvallis to knock off Oregon State. The Pilots however are currently on an eight-game losing streak.
• The Pilots are led by Ahmed Ali, who is third in WCC scoring behind Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Drew Timme. Ali is averaging 18.4 points per game.
• Eddie Davis (11.4 points per game) and Latrell Jones (10.8) are next in scoring for Portland.

Head Coach – Terry Porter

• Alma Mater: Wisconsin Stevens-Point, 1984
• Division I Career Record: 43-102 (5th Season)
• Record at San Francisco: 43-102 (5th Season)

Series Information

• All-Time Series: BYU leads 23-2
• Last Meeting: BYU won 95-67 at home two weeks ago, behind a season-high 23 points from Matt Haarms.

Broadcast Information

• TV: Stadium / KJZZ-TV
• TV Talent: Ann Schatz (play-by-play), Francis Williams (analyst)
• Radio: BYU Sports Network, BYU Radio Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2, KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM
• Streamed Audio: BYURadio.org, BYUCougars.com/LiveRadio and the BYU Radio, BYUCougars and BYU Gameday apps
• Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play)
• Live Stats: BYUcougars.com