PROVO — BYU basketball coach Mark Pope brought a plate of brownies to the interview room to share with reporters after the Cougars shut down Loyola Marymount 63-38 on Saturday night at the Marriott Center, presumably to celebrate his first West Coast Conference win after succeeding Dave Rose last spring.
The treats went down easily, which can’t be said for BYU’s shots the first half of the first half. The Cougars missed their first five shots and didn’t record a field goal until 15:35 remained in the first half, which came by way of a jumper by TJ Haws.
But on a night when the Cougars’ defensive effort garnered the most accolades, Pope was most proud of how his players patiently waited for their shots to fall and then flourished from there.
“We are heading in the right direction, but we have to get way better attacking teams when they monster (double-team) us,” Pope said. “It is an area we need to grow in.”
Consider Saturday’s effort a good start.
The Cougars missed their first seven 3-pointers and nine of their first 11. They finished making six of their final 13 from beyond the arc for a reasonable 8 of 24 (33.3%).
“There was a lot of turnovers and frustration out there early in the game,” said Jake Toolson, who was 3 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 13 points.
Loyola Marymount, which throttled San Diego on Thursday at home, threw a bunch of junk defenses, or “concoctions,” as Pope called them, and they worked — for a while.
While the offense was sputtering early — nothing like LMU’s awful effort, but close — the Cougars (1-0, 12-4) attacked the offensive glass to overcome their frequent misses. They finished with 10 offensive rebounds for nine second-chance points, which doesn’t seem like a lot until you learn they are one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the entire country.
BYU entered the game ranking 347th out of 350 teams in offensive rebounds per game, with 6.33.
“That was definitely a point of emphasis at halftime,” said Yoeli Childs, who led the Cougars with 19 points and 12 rebounds, his 15th straight double-double dating back to last season.
At halftime, LMU was outrebounding BYU 18-13 and trailed just 24-19 despite making just three field goals in the final 12 minutes of the half. It was a different story in the second half, as a stern halftime chat paid off.
“The guys shored it up pretty well,” Pope said.
In the key sequence, Childs tipped in a missed 3-pointer, then got free for a fast break dunk. Kolby Lee followed with a tip-in, giving BYU a 53-36 lead, and LMU’s frustration boiled over during a timeout with 4:19 remaining.
Leading scorer Eli Scott (15 points, six rebounds) was visibly upset at being pulled, jawing with coaches, and the Cougars coasted to their fourth-straight win in a conference-opener. Pope said BYU will face a much different team next month in Los Angeles, and he will have to do a better job preparing them for a variety of exotic defenses.
After the Cougars were 3 of 14 from long range in the first half, Pope told them to “just keep owning your shot” in the second half.
Then they started falling, Childs started dominating inside, and everybody started looking ahead to Thursday’s showdown at Saint Mary’s. And downing those brownies.