Cougars nail 16 3-pointers, run away from Weber State 89-71

OGDEN, Utah – BYU men’s basketball shot 62 percent from deep and ran away in the second half for an 89-71 win over Weber State at the Dee Events Center on Saturday night.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” said BYU head coach Mark Pope. “We’ve played five of the last six games on the road. This is an explosive Weber State team that started 8-0. For our guys to come in here and win is super impressive.”

The Cougars led 41-33 to begin the second half, when Weber State ripped into the deficit with a 11-3 run to tie the game for the only time on the night. 

BYU quickly shut down the Wildcats’ momentum with an 10-3 run of its own as Alex Barcello nailed two 3-pointers and Te’Jon Lucas dug up a loose ball and pushed it ahead to Gideon George for the dunk.

Moments later, George dished the ball to Fousseyni Traore for a one-handed slam that put the Cougars up 54-46.

The early second-half response proved crucial, as the Cougars plowed the rest of the way with a game-high lead of 22 at 87-65.

As a team, BYU made 16 3-pointers; the third-best single-game mark in program history.

Despite scoring his first points with just 2:38 remaining in the first half, Barcello put up 18 in the second half on his way to 23 for the night. The senior from Chandler, Ariz. shot 5-of-6 from deep and seven-of-13 from the field.

Barcello was one of just four Cougars to score in double-figures, with Seneca Knight recording a BYU career-high 14 points, 13 from Spencer Johnson and 11 from Trevin Knell.

Knight scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half alone, giving the Cougars a potent spark off the bench early. Knell tied a career-high with five rebounds and Caleb Lohner posted nine points and eight rebounds.

For the game, BYU outshot Weber State 49-41 percent and 62-28 percent from 3-point range.

Weber State enjoyed a size mismatch in the frontcourt, the Cougars still managed to outrebound the Wildcats 38-27.

The Wildcats led in the game’s early moments until Lucas and Knell took the lid off the bucket with three-straight possessions ending in 3-pointers.

Knight came off the bench and not only made his mark from deep but rebounded the ball effectively, following missed jumpers with lay-ins off the glass to give the Cougars critical second-chance points.

Weber State was led by 20 points from forward Dillon Jones as WSU scored 20 points off 14 BYU turnovers.

With the win over Weber State, the Mark Pope-led Cougars continue to have never lost back-to-back regular season games. 

The Cougars return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 22 in the first of three games at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

BYU will face South Florida in its Diamond Head opener on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. HAST on ESPNU. Tune-into BYU’s Diamond Head holiday on BYU Radio, BYU Sports Network and KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM.