Postgame notes: Utah Valley 75, BYU 60

BYU Men's Basketball vs. Utah Valley 2022-23

The following notes and quotes are from BYU men’s basketball's 75-60 loss Wednesday evening against Utah Valley at the Marriott Center.

Series Results: BYU leads 5-3

Attendance: 13,925

TEAM NOTES

Fresh Legs

Freshmen Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall had their first starts as Cougars against UVU, marking the first time two rookies have started for the Cougars since February 2, 2019 (Gavin Baxter, Connor Harding).

Speaking of New Faces

Saunders and Hall became the fourth and fifth freshmen to start a game under fourth year head coach Mark Pope.

From the line

BYU shot 93 percent from the charity stripe in the first half, going 13-of-14 from the line. The Cougars ended the game shooting 69.6 percent from the charity stripe.

Cougs in Double Digits

BYU had three players finish in double digits for the fourth time this season: Fousseyni Traore (18), Gideon George (10), Rudi Williams (15)

Forcing Turnovers

The Cougars forced 17 UVU turnovers, capitalizing for 20 points off the Wolverine turns.

PLAYERS NOTES

Fouss Went Feasting

Fousseyni Traore started strong for the Cougars, scoring the first eight points going 4-of-4 from the field, en route to team-high points. It is the fourth time this season and ninth time in his career he has led the Cougars in scoring.

Owning the Offensive Glass

Traore might move up the national rankings in offensive rebounds as four of his seven rebounds were on the offensive glass.

Strong Off the Bench

Rudi Williams finished with 15 points marking the seventh time in his NCAA Division I career that he has reached double figures off the bench.

SEASON HIGHS

Field Goals Made: Fousseyni Traore (8)
Offensive Rebounds: Gideon George (4)

CAREER HIGHS

Field Goal Attempts: Dallin Hall (12)
Steals: Gideon George (3)
Minutes Played: Jaxson Robinson (36)

QUOTES

Coach Mark Pope

"We are working really hard to find ourselves right now," said head coach Mark Pope. "There's a lot of things that we are not doing great right now. We know we are not playing very well right now. The guys are super committed to trying to get better and that is our job. So that is what I look forward to doing.”