BYU breaks slump with 89-61 rout of LMU
BYU men’s basketball snapped its three-game losing skid with a commanding 89-61 win over LMU Thursday night at the Marriott Center, tallying single-digit turnovers for the first time all season.
“We talk about how hungry we are to get better, and we believe we are getting better,” head coach Mark Pope said. “The execution tonight was so much better, it was a world of difference when compared to last month (on the road against LMU). Super proud of the guys’ focus tonight on offense.”
Despite the offensive explosion resulting in 53% shooting from the field and 50% from deep, the night’s most impressive number was the low turnover number, a near miracle for a Cougars squad averaging north of 15 giveaways per game and continuously bleeding points off turnovers.
Seven turnovers as a team is incredible,” guard Spencer Johnson said. “We are taking care of the ball a lot better.”
Johnson led the Cougars with 14 points, with Rudi Williams and Jaxson Robinson both each posting 13 and Fouss Traore recording an 11-point, 13 rebound double-double.
“This was a huge win for us. LMU is a really good team, they’ve been great in our league and nationally they’re ranked pretty well, so it was a great win for us and winning just makes you feel good and it rights the ship,” Johnson said. “It highlights the point that we can play with anyone in this league, so to get this win was really reassuring of that.”
BYU looks to finish its homestand strong against Pacific Saturday to pull above .500 in WCC play once more.
“The story of our season has been getting better from the beginning of the season to now,” Johnson said. “Every game, we are trying to get a little better and this is a step we needed to take. We had a lead and were able to increase it and finish the game and we did a really good job of that. We took a big step forward that way as a team.”
