PROVO, Utah - BYU men's basketball battled its way to a bounce-back win over Missouri State 74-68 in the Cougars' first true road trip to Missouri in program history, Saturday.

“I’m super proud of our guys," said BYU head coach Mark Pope. “It’s been a really hard week for us between illnesses, injuries and taking our first loss. These guys found a way to get it done tonight and in the process grew closer together and built trust in each other that is going to bode well for us going forward.”

In another physical game, senior guards Alex Barcello and Te’Jon Lucas led the way for the Cougars. Barcello finished with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, a rebound and four steals. Lucas came through in big moments for BYU, hitting 8-of-16 shots, totaling 17 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in the win.

Spencer Johnson and Caleb Lohner were the only other Cougars to finish in double figures scoring 14 and 10 respectively. Johnson went 3-for-4 from the field and 5-for-6 from the line and grabbed six rebounds. Lohner also grabbed six boards and shot 50 percent from the field in the win.

As a team, the Cougars shot 48.2 percent from the field, compared to 31.9 percent against Utah Valley Wednesday night.  Although they shot the ball better overall, BYU again struggled to shoot the three, hitting 26.1 percent of their three-point attempts and only 1 of 11 in the second half.

The Cougars made up for the lack of three-point shooting by scoring 16 points off 12 Bears turnovers and 15 second-chance points.

First Half

The Cougars got off to another slow start with only five points on 2-of-7 shooting going into the first media timeout with 15:55 to play.

After a few games of below-average shooting from Barcello, the senior hit his first two three point attempts of the night.

Missouri State on the other hand, made two of its first four threes to stay down one with 11:46 to play in the first half. Coming out of the under-12 timeout, the Bears got a bucket down low to take their first lead of the game.

Spencer Johnson tied the game when Trevin Knell found him in the corner for a catch-and-shoot three. On the next possession, Te’Jon Lucas hit a free throw line pull-up jumper to take back the lead for BYU with 8:33 to play in the first.

The Cougars scored on three straight possessions to stretch the lead to five, their largest of the game, with 3:58 left in the first.

With 1:37 left in the half, Knell hit a floater in the lane to give the Cougars an eight-point advantage. After two free throws by Missouri State, Lucas sliced through the lane for a right-hand kiss off the glass to again extend the Cougars lead to eight going into the break.

The Cougars shot 48 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from behind the arc and 75 percent from the line in the first 20 minutes. Johnson led BYU with 12 points on 3 of 3 from downtown and went 3 for 4 from the charity stripe.

Second Half

BYU came out of the locker room and quickly found Knell for an open 15-footer from the right elbow to give the Cougars their first double-digit lead of the game.

On the ensuing BYU possession, Barcello faked out his defender and hit an over the shoulder runner to put the Cougars up 12, causing Missouri State to take a timeout to regroup.

The Cougars scored on their third straight possession with Seneca Knight banking in a left elbow jumper for his first points of the game.

Although the Bears found themselves in a 14-point hole, they countered, scoring on three of four possessions to cut the BYU lead to seven with 15:02 to play. After an and-1 missed free throw, Missouri State got an offensive board, hit a three and got another and-1 to cut the lead to five.

After a foul on Lohner, Jaylen Minnett hit a 25-foot three to send the JQH Arena into frenzy with the BYU lead cut to two.

The Cougars responded with two straight scores from Lucas, followed by a slithering layup from Barcello, which gave BYU a six-point cushion going into the under-12 media timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, the Bears began to pound the paint, getting two straight buckets to cut the lead to three. After Lucas hit a step back three to ease the pressure, got back-to-back buckets to cut the lead to one.

Every time Missouri State scored to bring it to a one possession game, BYU seemed to have an answer on the other end.

The Cougars stretched the lead to five with two straight scores, but the Bears countered with two straight of their own.

Lucas again gave the Cougars some breathing room with a jumper from the right elbow which took them to the under-4 timeout.

Out of the timeout, Gaige Prim again cut the Cougar lead to one, but Barcello had the answer with a patented right elbow pull up to extend the lead to three.

Neither team could buy a defensive stop until Knight came up with a huge block with 54 seconds left in the game which was collected by Barcello and led to a Lohner bucket to give the Cougars some breathing room.

The seven-point BYU lead with 38 second to play brought about the foul game which led to a six-point bounce-back victory for the Cougars.

Up next for the Cougars, they return home to face Utah State in the Marriott Center. They then embark on another three-game road trip.

PROVO, Utah – No. 12 BYU finishes its three-game road trip on Saturday when they travel to the Show Me State to face Missouri State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. MST at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo.

Saturday’s contest will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. It will also be broadcast live on BYU Sports Network on the BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2 and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.

No. 12 BYU Notes (6-1, 0-0 West Coast Conference)

• BYU will look to bounce back following a 72-65 overtime defeat to Utah Valley on Wednesday evening at the UCCU Center in Orem. The loss put an end to the Cougars best start to a season since 2010-11.
• The Cougars rank first in the West Coast Conference and 11th in the nation rebounds per game (43.4). They also rank 14th nationally in rebound margin.
• Alex Barcello continues to lead the Cougars in scoring at 18.3 points per game after reaching double figures for the 10th straight game. The senior guard scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half on Wednesday while pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds for his second career double-double.
• Caleb Lohner pulled down 11 rebounds against UVU, marking the second time in his career that the sophomore from Dallas, Texas has recorded double digit boards in consecutive games.
• Te’Jon Lucas dished out a season-high eight assists on Wednesday, marking the fifth time this season he has finished with five or more assists. He ranks third in the conference and 36th in the nation in assists (38).

Head Coach – Mark Pope

• Alma Mater: Kentucky, 1996
• Division I Career Record: 127-72 (7th Season)
• Record at BYU: 50-16 (3rd Season)

Missouri State Notes (4-3, 0-1 MVC)

• Missouri State is 4-3 on the season following a 79-74 overtime loss in its Missouri Valley Conference opener against Illinois State on Wednesday.
• The Bears are led by fourth-year head coach Dana Ford, who was a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award and Skip Posser Award last season after helping MSU match a program record with seven conference road wins. He has accumulated a record of 53-43 during his time in Springfield, Mo.
• Gaige Prim is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Bears with 20 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-9 forward has scored in double figures in all eight games this season including a 28-point, 15 rebound double-double against Southeast Missouri State in the season opener.
• Isiah Mosley led the MVC in scoring last year and was a finalist for the Larry Bird Player of the Year Award and Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year. He has scored 20 or more points three times this season including a 31-point performance against Alabama State.

Head Coach – Dana Ford

• Alma Mater: Illinois State, 2006
• Division I Career Record: 110-108 (8th season)
• Record at Missouri State: 53-43 (4th season)

Series Information

• Series Record: Tied 1-1
• Last Meeting: MSU won 62-61 in overtime, January 6, 1987
• H/A/N: 1-1/0-0/0-0

Broadcast Information

• TV: CBS Sports Network
• TV Talent: John Sadak, Tim Doyle
• 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, BYU Cougars and BYU Gameday apps
• Radio Talent: Jason Shepherd, Mark Durrant
• Live stats: BYUCougars.com