BYU men’s basketball stomps Lindenwood 90-61

BYU’s offense fired on all cylinders Tuesday night against Lindenwood in a 90-61 win, earning Mark Pope’s squad its fourth consecutive victory.

“I think we’re just getting to understand ourselves a little bit better, in some ways a lot better,” Pope said. “We’re learning how to react to certain in-game situations, how to come prepared with a mentality every single night where you play your best game in order to win, how to deal with public criticism and public praise. The list that this group has to learn is endless because we’re just so new, and it’s actually really fun.”

Fouss Traore posted 21 points to lead all scorers, with Noah Waterman adding 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

“Fouss is an incredible player, he’s always going to make the right play. He’s very unselfish,” point guard Dallin Hall said. “To know that when we can get it to him in his spot he’s going to be able to score, that’s really good for our team.. when we get in tough spells it’s amazing to know we’ve got an All-American player in the post that we can give it to and he can score. I’m super grateful that Fouss is on my team.”

Despite attempting just one shot from the field, Hall set a new career-high with nine assists while remaining turnover-free.

“He’s an unbelievable leader, and he’s like a sieve, he just wants to take in so much information,” Pope said of Hall. “Incredibly, it’s not overwhelming him which is not very common. Usually, when you have to take in all this information it starts to overwhelm you. It’s super impressive.”

BYU dished out a season-high 24 assists and shot 55.6% from the field, with 10 different Cougars finding the scoreboard in the 29-point win.

Jaxson Robinson and Rudi Williams combined for 25 points on 9-10 shooting along with six assists, and Richie Saunders continued an impressive freshman campaign with eight points and seven boards.

BYU moves to 9-5 with the win, facing Weber State in Provo this Thursday in its non-conference finale.

“We know that there’s going to be growing pains and we’re walking forward in faith, really believing that this is going to work,” Pope said. “We’re starting to see some signs that are super hopeful. I think we’re a little more difficult to scout, I think guys are feeling empowered to think a little more creatively and feeling empowered.”