BYU Basketball: Cougars recover Senior Night with big 2nd half

Honestly, in the first half of Saturday’s BYU-Saint Mary game at senior night at the Marriott Center, there wasn’t much to text.

Luckily for the Cougars, it turned out to be another night to remember for the seniors.

All’s well That ends well.

Last February, BYU’s epic revolt over Gonzaga # 2 sparked a mad court assault during Senior Night.

A year later, the Cougars overcame a slow shooting start to defeat Saint Mary’s, 65-51, in front of a crowd of just under 2,000.

“We have special nights for seniors, don’t we?” Coach Mark Pope said. “It was a different feeling than last year.”

Yes it was.

In the first half, it was particularly difficult on the attacking side for the three seniors – Alex Barcello, Matt Haarms and Brandon Averette.

The trio combined to shoot 0 for 11 in the first half as the Cougars qualified for a 23 point first half.

But in the second half of the year, these seniors helped turn things around quickly.

Meanwhile, sophomore Trevin Knell had a big night, scoring a career-high 15 points, including 4 of 5 at 3 points.

In the second half, Averette, Haarms and Barcello combined to go 10 of 15 from the floor and they combined to score 26 points.

The Cougars made nine of their first 12 shots in the second half to take their first double-digit lead of the game.

As a team, BYU has scored 42 points in the last 20 minutes. While the Cougars shot 23% in the first half, they shot 67% in the second half, including 5 of 6 at 3 points.

“We continued to stay aggressive,” Averette said. “We have started.”

So what happened in the first half?

“It was all the Senior Night atmosphere. It was a little weird, ”Averette said. “We knew the blows would fall for us eventually.”

For the game, Haarms finished with 11 points, a season-high 10 rebounds and five blocked shots (the blocks all arrived in the first half). Additionally, Haarms eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for his college career, including three seasons at Purdue, and he now has 1,004 points.

Averette had 11 points and four assists. Barcello – two nights after posting a career-high performance with 29 points and 7 of 7 in 3-point territory – had eight points to go with five rebounds and five assists.

Gideon George contributed 11 points and hit three 3 points.

The seniors were honored ahead of Saturday’s game, as planned. Then, with 51 seconds remaining, Pope excluded the three seniors from the match for another standing ovation.

After the match, Pope hosted an impromptu celebration after the match. First, he addressed the crowd, thanking the fans for their support all season. He talked about the elders.

“The time will come, when the time is right, to recruit them for one more year,” Pope said.

Because the NCAA has suspended the eligibility of all players this season due to the pandemic, the three could technically return for another season.

Then Pope gave the three seniors time to share their feelings at the end of Senior Night, which surprised them all. But they spoke from the heart. They have expressed their gratitude for everything that has happened this season and they have also looked to the future.

“The business is not done,” Barcello said.

With the victory, the Cougars (19-5, 10-3) won their fourth straight game and clinched the second seed in the upcoming West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

The first half looked like it had been concocted in the lab of Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett.

From the start, BYU went straight into the hands of Saint Mary (13-8, 4-6) as the Gaels made the game ugly.

Saint Mary’s opened the game shooting 1 of 10 from the floor, but only 6-5 at the start. The Gaels finished their previous game with the Cougars 1 of 12 in shooting and then had a rough start on Saturday.

But BYU didn’t fare much better. While Knell had some 3 points, BYU’s first 2-point basket did not come until 9:33 of the first half on a return from George. It was also the Cougars’ first point for a starter.

At halftime, BYU was leading 23-18. The Cougars shot 7 of 30 from the field in the first half. BYU and Saint Mary’s combined for 50 rebounds at intermission.

Former BYU coach Dave Rose, who suffered a stroke on New Years Eve, attended Saturday’s game.

Overall, it was another memorable senior night for BYU.

“I have a deep affection for these three elderly people,” said Pope.