alt=Jeff CallPepperdine (11-10, 4-3) at BYU (15-7, 4-3)
Thursday, 6:30 p.m. MST
Marriott Center
TV: CBS SN
Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM
PROVO — Early in the second half Saturday afternoon in San Francisco, BYU seemed poised to complete a Bay Area sweep.
The Cougars pounded Pacific Thursday and then built a 14-point lead after halftime against the Dons before collapsing and settling for a Bay Area split.
Go figure — BYU used a 21-0 second-half run to beat the Tigers; the Dons used a 21-0 second-half run run to defeat the Cougars.
Coach Mark Pope described the experience at USF as “incredibly painful. Sometimes you have to go through some painful things to get to where you want to go. We clearly know where we want to go. We’ve got to keep fighting and getting better every day to get there.”
This week, BYU (15-7, 4-3) returns home for two more big games — Thursday against Pepperdine and Saturday against Saint Mary’s.
Right now, the Gaels are all alone in second place in the West Coast Conference.
BYU, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Pepperdine are tied for third place. The Waves beat Portland Saturday at home, 80-69.
What did Pope tell his team after that gut-wrenching loss at USF?
“The same thing we talk about all of the time. This season, it tests you. The game asks you everyday how you are going to respond,” Pope said. “Certainly, this is really, really painful questioning time for us about how we’ll respond. We’re about to face a team on Thursday that’s even more isolation-oriented than this team. We’ve got to come up with some answers.”
BYU allowed USF guard Khalil Shabazz to come off the bench and go off for a career-high 32 points on 10 of 10 shooting, including 6 of 6 from 3-point range, while his backcourt mate Jamaree Bouyea contributed 23 points.
“It’s just a really disappointing night for us and for me as a coach,” Pope said. “We have to find a way to get better. The last time we really got punched in the mouth with a ton of isolation was Boise (State), where we just couldn’t manage it. I failed to help my team manage it. It’s a question for us that’s not going away.”
What’s the Cougars’ mindset after this road trip?
“Just work on Monday, I guess. That’s what we do — get in the gym and get better,” said forward Yoeli Childs. “We’ve got to learn from it. We’ve learned from all of our losses so far. Hopefully, we can learn from this one so we don’t have anything like that happen again.”
After losing its big lead against the Dons, BYU battled back to pull within two points with one minute remaining. But the Cougars made just 2 of 4 free throws attempts over the final 17 seconds.
Guard Alex Barcello said he was surprised that his team wasn’t able to knock down more free throws.
“Yeah, it is because we’re a team full of great shooters. But some shots don’t fall,” he said. “That’s what the game gave us today. We had to find other ways to get points and battle through the adversity and continue to move on.”
Barcello added that BYU needs to shore up its defense.
“Every game is a battle. We’ve got to come out ready to play, ready to guard and defend,” he said. “We have to make as many stops as we can and continue to play together as a team.”
The Cougars have posted a 2-5 record this season in true road games, with four of those losses coming down to the wire, including three in overtime. They fell to Boise State, Utah and Saint Mary’s in OT.
BYU is happy to be returning home but Pope acknowledged that there’s plenty of work to do.
“It won’t help us at all if I’m not better. Home court doesn’t save you,” Pope said. “It’s great to be home but we have to respond and adjust better and we will.”
The Cougars will be facing Pepperdine for the first time this season. BYU lost 87-84 in overtime at Saint Mary’s on Jan. 9.
“It’s always nice,” Barcello said, “playing in front of our home crowd.”