PROVO — For a stretch early on in Thursday’s game, which included six consecutive misses, BYU shot the ball as though the Marriott Center were a foreign court.
Of course, it had been exactly one month since the Cougars had played a game on this floor.
But Matt Haarms and his teammates more than made up for that slow shooting start and eventually, they looked right at home in an overwhelming 95-67 victory over Portland.
“It was a terrific performance by him. He was doing a nice job physically engaging in the post. He was patient in the post.” — BYU coach Mark Pope, on Matt Haarms
Haarms, the 7-foot-3 senior grad transfer from Purdue, scored a BYU career-high 23 points, including a perfect 9 of 9 from the floor and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Haarms also added six rebounds and three blocks.
The school record for most field goals made in a game without a miss was set by Cougar legend Kresimir Cosic in 1971, when he went 12 of 12 from the field.
“It was a terrific performance by him. He was doing a nice job physically engaging in the post. He was patient in the post,” coach Mark Pope said of Haarms. “Anytime you get to put your name in the same sentence with Kresimir, that’s pretty cool.”
Haarms is now tied for second in that shooting category with three other players, including Trent Plaisted, who is the last Cougar to hit that many shots without a miss — in 2008.
Last season, Yoeli Childs knocked down 10 of 10 in the first half, setting the school record for most field goals in a half without a miss.
Guard Alex Barcello praised Haarms’ contributions to the team.
“He works so hard every day,” he said. “(It’s) how great of a teammate he is on the bench and how much energy he brings when he’s in the game, how he talks to guys on the floor, it was unbelievable. I was extremely happy. I know all the guys were extremely happy to see him do so well tonight.”
Most of Haarms’ shots came on dunks and hooks and short jumpers. Going into the game, he was an abysmal 2 of 22 from 3-point range. One of Haarms’ final field goals of the night came on a 3-pointer that bounded around the rim before falling through the net, lifting the Cougars to an 80-54 lead with eight minutes remaining.
When that shot went down, BYU’s players exploded.
“I think our bench nearly fell over in joy and celebration with the last one, the one from the top of the key,” Pope said. “Matt’s a terrific shooter. They just haven’t fallen for him for a little while. That was great to see that one go in.”
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle for me from 3. I’m really confident in shooting the ball. I know that I can hit it. I know that I can make it, that’s why I keep shooting them,” Haarms said. “In practice, they go in, they go in in pregame. In the games, they haven’t gone in in a while. Everybody knew I’d been struggling on the court in terms of my 3 ball. So to be able to hit one today felt really good. All the guys are extremely happy for me. It’s awesome to be part of a team like this.”
“I told him I wanted to tackle him when he hit that 3 but he was screaming at me to get back on defense,” said Barcello, who grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists and added 10 points. “I was so happy for him. That’s who he is as a player. I’m excited for the season to go on with him. I think that gave him a lot of confidence, which he should have because he’s such a dominant force inside the paint.”
Speaking of shooting perfection, Richard Harward nailed 5 of 5 shots from the floor and ended up with 10 points. Brandon Averette added 12.
While BYU controlled the paint, it also knocked down 14 3-pointers — including nine in the second half as the Cougars pulled away. Trevin Knell and Connor Harding had three 3-pointers each.
Pope was also pleased with his team’s season-high 28 assists against Portland (6-8, 0-5), which sits in last place in the West Coast Conference standings.
“This is just a happy place for our team. It’s the way we love to play,” he said. “When we get to have ball movement, it’s really fun for us. The zone invites ball movement. Twenty-eight is a happy number for us.”
BYU (12-3, 3-1) jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the opening minutes before Portland went on a 13-0 run to seize a surprising 16-9 lead. A Spencer Johnson 3-pointer came after six straight misses and that big scoring spree by the Pilots.
BYU responded with a 14-3 run of its own to retake the lead. While Latrell Jones kept Portland close, the Cougars went into the locker room at halftime with a 37-31 advantage.
Jones knocked down 4 of 5 3-point attempts in the first half. He came into the game averaging 9.6 points per game and had hit just 10 of 38 from 3-point range. He knocked down 4 of 5 3s in the first half and recorded a game-high 15 points at intermission. He finished with a career-high 21 points.
“That took us by surprise and we were slow to adjust,” Pope said.
But in the second half, BYU made 17 of its first 22 shots and it finished 21 of 32 from the floor over the final 20 minutes. For the game, the Cougars shot 57%.
The Pilots entered the game ranked No. 1 in the country in percentage of points scored at the free-throw line. Portland was averaging 24 free throw attempts per game, among the most in the nation, but they had only one trip, and two free throws, in the first half.
The Pilots finished 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.
“They’re unbelievable at getting to the line,” Pope said. “I thought our guys did a tremendous job guarding without fouling.”
Pope also pointed out Haarms’ defensive contributions.
“He was really good protecting the rim and he was really good managing penetration,” he said.
For Haarms, Thursday’s performance was a little bit of deja vu.
“I actually did have a game exactly like this one with the exact same numbers from the field as well when I was at Purdue when we played Illinois at home my redshirt sophomore year,” he said. “Illinois was playing a gimmicky defense, which led me to that. Tonight, what was working for me was, I think the guys put me in great positions. After they found out that I was doing a good job down low, they started looking for me every single time. In the first half, I didn’t really establish myself. But then in the second half, they helped me have a good game today.”
While BYU won its third game in a row, Portland dropped its sixth straight. The Pilots are now 1-45 in their last 46 conference games.
BYU hosts Pepperdine Saturday.