BYU uses high depths to block the remorseful Utah Valley

Not all of the best basketball players in Utah County play at BYU.

More of them.

That fact was briefly demonstrated Saturday night at the Marriott Center as deep, tall cooks blocked the heartbroken Utah Valley 82-60 in the annual UCCU Grostown clash of schools just 4 miles apart in the state’s second most populous district. .

Alex Barcello took the game after a slow start and finished with 20 points to lead BYU, while Trey Woodbury (24) and Jamison Overton (21) scored 45 for UVU. But when Barcello got a lot of help from his talented teammates – the other four cooks reached double figures – BYU once appointed Woodbury and got little to no overtone.

BYU coach Mark Pope, who led Dave Rose’s memorable UVU victory over the Cowkers four years ago, scored almost 30 points from his bench for almost a day, while Mark Mattson replaced him with only nine, nothing in the first half.

“It helps us stay in depth,” Pope said, adding that his team was playing its third game in four nights. “It really helps us with these (often) games.”

Brandon Averett and Connor Harding each had 11 points, while Trevin Nell and Purdue replacement Matt Harmes – his BYU debutant – had 10 points each. Freshman Caleb Lohner added six points and eight rebounds for his first start.

Averett (36) and Barcello (31) played more than 30 minutes for the Cougars, while Nell (24) and Harding (26) played more than 20 minutes. Three Wolverines played over 30.

“We have a deep team and that’s what makes this team super special,” Nell said. “We don’t have an agenda (to play time). We want to win and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Grid view

• 
  
  
  

  2020 Nov.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  BYU’s bench, including Matt Harmes (3), celebrates when the Cooks beat the Utah Valley Wolverines 82-60 on Saturday 28 November 2020 at the Marriott Center in Provo.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  When the Cooks beat the Wolverines 82-60 at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, November 28, 2020, BYU’s Alex Barcello (13) puts a shot from a corner into Blaze Nealt (3) of Utah Valley.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  Jamie Overton, 22, of the Utah Valley, shoots BYU’s Brandon Avert (4) as the Cooks win 82-60 against the Wolverines at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, November 28, 2020.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  When the Cooks beat the Utah Valley Wolverines 82-60 on Saturday 28 November 2020 at the Marriott Center in Provo, BYU’s Trevin Nell (21) takes a shot from the corner.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  Richard Harvard, 42, of BYU, fired a shot into the Utah Valley’s Fardows Imak (11) when the Cooks won 82-60 against the Wolverines at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, November 28, 2020.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  2020 Nov.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  Alex Barcello (13) of BYU was shot when the Cooks won 82-60 against the Utah Valley Wolverines at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, November 28, 2020.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  BYU’s Alex Barcello (13) showed tight defense when the Cooks won 82-60 against the Utah Valley Wolverines at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday 28 November 2020.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  BYU’s Matt Harmes (3) defends the Utah Valley’s Fardows Imak (11) as he handles the ball as the Cooks win 82-60 against the Wolverines at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, November 28, 2020.
  
  

  BYU
  

• 
  
  
  

  2020 Nov.
  
  

  BYU
  

Probably, but the level of difficulty increases significantly. Next up is the USC of Pack-12 on Tuesday in Mohegan Sun, Connecticut, with Yukon or Vanderbilt on Thursday and Logan on Saturday to face Mountain West champion Utah State on Saturday.

“They’re getting harder and harder and harder,” Pope said.

BYU won all three games by more than 20 points, made more than 10 3-pointers in all three, and scored more than 50% in all three. No worries, right?

Not exactly. The Cougars suffered several offensive defeats, got out of rhythm on both sides, and struggled to contain Woodbury and Overton, who were 16 out of 30 from the field. The slow UVU big man Ferdows Imag, who had 24 points and 18 rebounds, did so in Thursday’s easy win over Adams State by the Wolverines. Faced with a high level of BYU, Aimaq was 1 out of 9 for three points.

“We have to find a better way,” Pope said.

Don’t beat BYU by 22 points, now 3-0 after winning its third game in four nights. The Cougars did not drown their neighbors, and sometimes the memories of that 2016 UVU victory on the floor of BYU often flashed in the minds of Cougar fans everywhere.

The Wolverines competed throughout (1-1), leading by 10 points in the first half and were within 10 points, with just five minutes left in the intense, physical match that took place in front of two hundred spectators.

The UVU was abbreviated as former courier Colby Leafson was isolated and Georgia technology transfer Evan Cole also sat out.

“What an incredible job Mark Matson is doing,” Pope said. “They ‘re going to be a good team. … He’s really going to blow up that space.”

As Pope does in BYU.

Tonight, all eyes were on the 7-foot-3 Harms, the tallest player on the ground. With 10 minutes of play time control, Harmes entered the game just before the end of the first media time, immediately blowing up a 3-point effort.

Moments later, he took a lap from Jesse Wade and nailed a dungeon home for his first points as a cougar. He made all three quick mistakes.

“For those first few minutes, I really felt lost,” Harmes said.

It was good to have the Barcelona, ​​Arizona relocation for the Cougars.

The senior did not score in the first nine minutes as UVU took an 18-8 lead and then went 30-6 in the final 11 minutes, giving the Cooks a 38-24 half-time lead. Barcello’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer finished half.

“Nothing feels right,” Pope said. “We had to come back to trust each other.”

This year it is becoming clear that Barcelona is the team, and the Cougars will go as he goes. When the cookers were initially installed, he gathered them together and said, “Let’s do our policies, we’ll be right.”

In fact, the Cougars missed their first seven 3-point attempts and then made six of the first eight 3 points in the first half. They finished 11 out of 25 from depth.

With eight minutes left in a paddy 3-pointer the BYU rose to 68-46, then Woodbury, Overton and former Cougar Place Nealt led the final Wolverine rise.

UVU reduced the deficit to 12-5 with a score of 68-58, with Barcello creating a float into the alley to prevent bleeding.

“It’s an instant game – you’re going to get a little frustrated,” Nell said.

The Cooks finished the game 9-0, capturing the spectators in the final 5:33 without a field goal.

The biggest setback for BYU came on Thursday when Pope announced that junior forward Gavin Baxter would come out of season with a torn ACL and a torn right knee after a 86-61 win over New Orleans.

“Losing Gavin was a blow to the gut for everyone on this team,” Pope said. “This is a huge loss for us.”