BYU men’s basketball set to honor 4 seniors in home finale against Pepperdine
The BYU men’s basketball team will honor four seniors on Saturday when the Cougars host Pepperdine in the Marriott Center.
Alex Barcello, Te’Jon Lucas, Gavin Baxter and Richard Harward will be the four seniors recognized.
Barcello has had the biggest impact of the four during his time in Provo, starting in all 87 games over the last three seasons. He spent two years at Arizona before finding a change with Mark Pope and BYU.
Barcello was a key piece to a team that knocked off No. 2-ranked Gonzaga and finished No. 18 in the AP poll his first year. Last year, Barcello helped lead BYU back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
In three seasons with the Cougars Barcello has averaged 14 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists, while shooting a scorching 46.9% from behind the arc. Barcello is on pace to shatter the current BYU 3-point field goal percentage record.
Barcello was honored on Senior Night a year ago but used his extra COVID year to stick around for one more season.
Lucas is the other senior that will be in the lineup on Saturday night. Also a transfer, Lucas decided to use his final year of eligibility to lace up for the Cougars after two years apiece at Illinois and Milwaukee.
Completing the starting backcourt with Barcello, Lucas has appeared in and started 28 games for the Cougars, averaging 10.7 points and 4.7 assists.
The veteran has stepped up in big moments this year, most notably in his only rivalry game with Utah, when Lucas led the team with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
More recently, Lucas played a large role in helping stop a four-game skid by adding 17 points and nine assists in an overtime win at Loyola Marymount.
Baxter and Harward will not be in the lineup for the home finale, but they both delivered exciting moments while donning the blue.
Baxter burst onto the scene in 2019 as a freshman when he put up 25 points and 10 rebounds against Loyola Marymount in his first career start. This year, Baxter was averaging an efficient 8.8 points on 64.8% shooting.
Unfortunately, Baxter’s career has been battered with injuries. Between a torn labrum and two ACL injuries, Baxter has only been able to play in 16 games since his freshman season.
Harward has been in Provo for three years but only suited up for one season. A transfer from Utah Valley University, Harward sat out the 2019-20 season before providing a key spark off the bench in 2020-21.
In 2020 against rival Utah, Harward scored 15 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. He also helped lead a comeback at San Francisco with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Harward missed this season due to a heart condition.
Baxter and Harward both have one more year of eligibility if they decide to return. However, Baxter has hinted at his BYU career being over.
The story of this season is yet to be written, with BYU’s postseason fate still up in the air.
But wherever the final few weeks of the season take this team, these four seniors have provided plenty of fun along the way.
