BYU Overpowers Pacific 95-87 in 2OT

PROVO, Utah – Fueled by the scoring of senior guards Alex Barcello and Brandon Averette, BYU men's basketball put-away Pacific 95-87 in a double-overtime decision on Saturday night in the Marriott Center.

“The game was so incredibly awesome because we won,” said BYU head coach Mark Pope. “We went through our whole lineup, and everyone contributed in different ways. We might not know a lot about ourselves, but we know that we fight until the end.”

That fight was on full display as the Cougars found themselves down 75-73 in the closing seconds of the initial overtime. Facing that deficit, Barcello drove to the basket for a contested lay-in and moments later collected a crucial defensive rebound to preserve the game into a second extra-period.

Once in double overtime the Cougars never looked back. Powered by six of center Matt Haarms’ 13 points and a dagger-three from Averette, the team closed-out Pacific with 20 double-overtime points.

Barcello and Averette did much more than score for the Cougars on Saturday night. The two guards combined for 12 assists, with Barcello also recording a career-high nine rebounds and two steals. Junior Connor Harding and freshman Caleb Lohner came up big for the Cougar defense down the stretch, finishing the game with three steals and six defensive rebounds respectively.

With the win, BYU put Wednesday’s 76-73 setback at Pepperdine in their rear-view and looks ahead to a road trip that begins Tuesday, February 2 at San Diego.

“We will recover and then (handle) all of the game prep and travel on Monday,” Pope said. “(San Diego) is a tough opponent for us. We barely escaped with our life last year. We are grateful for every chance to play.”

The win gave Pope a 38-12 record through his first 50 games as BYU's head coach. That's the second best record through 50 few games of any coach in BYU history. Pope has never lost back-to-back games during that stretch.

The Cougars now head on the road, visiting San Diego on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. PST. The game is slated to be streamed-live on Stadium and broadcast on the BYU Sports Networks on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2 and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.

Box Score
Postgame Notes and Quotes