BYU vs. Cal State Fullerton Postgame Notes

BYU vs. Cal State Fullerton Box Score

BYU vs. Cal State Fullerton Game Recap

Individual Notes

In his 102nd-consecutive start, TJ Haws scored 17 points on 7-12 shooting while dishing out three assists and grabbing a pair of rebounds.

Alex Barcello recorded a career-best 17 points in his first career start and game as a Cougar. He went 3-4 from beyond the arc and added three steals, two blocks and two assists. Also scoring their first points in a BYU jersey were Blaze Nield (3) and Trevin Knell (3).

All 11 of Connor Harding’s points came in the first half, giving the guard a new career-best for his first half scoring. The guard buried three treys, tallied a career-high eight rebounds and added three assists.

In his return to BYU, Jake Toolson recorded seven points, five rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes played.

Kolby Lee tallied a career-high four rebounds while adding five points.

Team Notes

In the first half, the Cougars recorded 42.3 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, BYU held the Titans to 32.1 percent from the field and allowing only two makes out of their final 15 in the period.

On the game, BYU shot 49.1 percent from the field, 45.8 percent from three and 60.0 percent from the charity stripe. The Titans recorded 36.8 percent from the field, 35.7 from beyond the arc and 61.1 from the free-throw line.

Seven Cougars combined to hit 11 3-pointers, tying the 2018-19 season high.

Postgame Quotes

BYU guard TJ Haws

On having another strong shooter to open your game up especially in the second half.

“When you have good shooters on the perimeter it really opens up the floor. If they want to play in the gaps then we’re going to make shots. We have great shooters all around on this team, confident shooters. When guys are making shots that opens up the floor a whole bunch.”

On this team's defense as opposed to past years

“Our energy is really great, we really pride ourselves defensively. We’ve been working on our defense since May and June, working on our footwork every single day. The guys trust in what we’ve worked on. The chemistry and the trust we have on defense, things like that, is really good right now, and I think that’s going to continue to get better as we keep playing games.”

BYU guard Alex Barcello

On his debut at BYU with a career-high 17 points

“I look at it like a blessing. It feels great to come out here and play with such great guys and such a great team. I’m very thankful, really happy that I could be out there with these guys and for a great coaching staff.”

“Just playing with the flow of the game, not trying to force any shots, just letting the game come to me. Staying within our actions and just trusting in our plays.”

BYU head coach Mark Pope

On tonight's win

"I am super happy for our guys. We knew it was going to be really challenging coming in because every game is challenging. Every game is hard to win and our guys came in and competed. We had some guys step up in a special way. We got contributions from everybody, so I am super happy for our guys and proud of their effort."

On Alex Barcello’s first game

"He is really good. The thing about Alex that is super interesting and helps us so much is that he is so physical off the bounce. What I mean by that, a lot of times when you’re driving, guys can move you off your driving line. But, he doesn’t. You can’t move him. He is just so physical. He is a beautiful compliment to TJ Haws in that sense, because TJ is slight, light and clever. But, TJ is not really a physical presence on the offensive or defensive side. He is going to trick you and out-speed you. So, they have a yin and yang personality in the backcourt that is going to be hugely important for us. The same things on the defensive end. TJ has some length and cleverness and Alex is like bulldog. They work really well together and allow us to do a lot of different things. They are going to be really good partners together."

On playing San Diego State 

"They are really long and have an all-star backcourt. We played Washington State at my former school (UVU) two or three years ago and there is a kid that transferred to San Diego State and is now eligible, he is really good. Their backcourt is really big and then their frontcourt is so long. There might be some shock when people see us walk out on the floor against San Diego State. We are hoping that there will be some shock when we walk off the floor as well and people will say, ‘How did that happen?” That is what we are hoping for. So, we have a lot of work to do. They are big time team right now. They are really potent offensively and their hallmark has always been their length on defense. So we are in for a massive challenge. It is going to be really fun and that is why you play the game."