Postgame Notes: Santa Clara 81, BYU 74

The following notes and quotes are from BYU’s 81-74 loss to Santa Clara on Thursday evening from the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. 

Series Results: BYU leads 32-9

Attendance: 13,321

TEAM NOTES

Keeping it Close

BYU outscored SCU 44-34 in the second half to only lose by seven. 11 of the team’s 13 defeats this season have been by single digits.

Taking Care of the Ball

BYU had nine total turnovers, six less than they had in the first half against Santa Clara earlier this season on January 19, 2023. It marks the third time this season with single-digit turnovers.

Slow Start

The Cougars were 0-for-7 from three in the first half, the first time in the Mark Pope era they did not convert a triple in the first. The last time BYU did not make a three in any half was March 16, 2022 (Long Beach State).

Bucking Broncos

Santa Clara’s 19 made field goals is tied for the most by an opponent in a first half this season (Gonzaga, 1/12/23), with the Broncos standing alone for most field goal attempts (35) in a first half.

PLAYERS NOTES

Fighting Fouss

With his 13-point performance, Fousseyni Traore has now scored in double figures in seven-straight games, the longest streak of his career. His 10 rebounds also gave him his seventh double-double on the season and 16th in his career.

Conference Contributor

Traore’s career .611 field goal percentage in WCC play continues his run atop the BYU leaderboard for best shooting rate all-time in conference games. He is also 10th in career conference rebounds per game (8.39) and ninth in blocks per game (1.04).

Mr. Steal The Ball

After grabbing three steals against Santa Clara, Spencer Johnson now has 31 steals in WCC play this year, which is tied for the ninth-most in a single league season in program history. He is also averaging 2.4 steals per game, good for fourth-best all-time among BYU players.

CAREER HIGHS

• Points: Trey Stewart (9)
• Field goals made: Trey Stewart (4)
• Three-pointers made: Trey Stewart (1, 4x)

SEASON HIGHS

• Blocks: Spencer Johnson (1, 3x)

QUOTES

Coach Mark Pope

Opening Statement

“Super disappointing outcome and super disappointing first half. I am proud of the guys for having some fight in the second half. We just need to get better in 100 different ways.”

On Trey Stewart’s career-high

“I'm super proud of Trey. He's on the path to becoming a really special player. He's growing into a really special competitor and he's got a terrific future. Very few people can sit there and watch the debacle that was the first half and then come off the bench and make really positive plays and have really positive energy.”

Looking forward to Saturday’s game versus Saint Mary’s

“I have so much confidence in this group. I have every expectation that we'll go down there and rise to the challenge by meeting their competitive level. We'll keep growing and learning, that's what we're about."