BYU vs. New Orleans Postgame Notes and Quotes

The following notes are from BYU's 86-61 win over New Orleans on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020, at the Marriott Center. 

ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS: 1-1

TEAM NOTES

2-0

This is the first 2-0 start to the season for BYU since 2017.

Rebounding

BYU outrebounded New Orleans 54-28 in the game and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds. That’s the most offensive rebounds in a game for BYU since the 2016-17 season.

Second-chance points

BYU had 26 second-chance points in, compared to New Orleans’ 5.

Five in double figures

BYU had five players score in double figures: Alex Barcello (19), Connor Harding (12), Kolby Lee (12), Brandon Averette (11), Richard Harward (10).

PLAYER NOTES

Alex Barcello

Barcello led BYU in scoring with 19 points, which included 8-12 shooting and 3-4 for three. His seven rebounds are a career high. He had a team-high four assists and played a team-high 29 minutes.

Richard Harward

Harward scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. His seven offensive rebounds are the 16th most in a game in BYU history.

Connor Harding

Harding was two points shy of his career-high of 14. He tied his career-high in steals with two in the first 52 seconds of the game.

Notable career highs/career firsts

First career double-double: Harward
Career-high points: Harward (11), Lohner (6),
Career-high rebounds: Harward (10), Lohner (9), Barcello (7)
Career-high assists: Johnson (2)
Career-high steals: Knell (2), Harding (2 tied)
Career-high 3-pointers: Averette (3 tied)

BYU HEAD COACH MARK POPE

On the physical, choppy nature of the game

“Super frustrating, everything is just frustrating. This game of basketball can be so frustrating. And the whistle — not because it was inconsistent, but just because the nature of the game — can be so frustrating. Frustrating opponent, because they pressure so much. They kind of take us out of stuff, and it was hard to get to a flow of the game because the whistle. Obviously, the Gavin Baxter situation, we're just super hopeful and prayerful, but it was just a mountain of frustration. I told the guys in the eight-minute media timeout that a lot of times what you're competing against, actually, is frustration. That's actually your opponent, and I thought the guys did a really nice job just managing it. They just managed to kind of keep focused, kept locked in the best they could, and I'm super proud of them.”

On Matt Haarms’ status

“Matt Haarms had a really good workout again today. We're going to actually throw him in a little bit of practice tomorrow and see how it goes. I'm really grateful we were able to survive these two games without him.”

On Gavin Baxters’ status

“In terms of Gavin, we just don't know. He's going to go get imaging, and we're going to see. We're just really, really hopeful and praying that it is something that's recoverable quickly.”

RICHARD HARWARD

On the team's rebounding

“I feel like we did pretty solid rebounding. I don't know the numbers right off the top of my head, but I felt like everyone was on the board. I know Caleb is an absolute monster. I'm so excited to have that guy on the squad, and just watching how he’s come in, and he's able to contribute immediately. Kolby’s getting rebounds. I feel like we're just such a threat, all the way around when it comes to the offensive, or even the defensive boards, because we have so many guys who are happy with athleticism and the ability to go and get the rebound.”

CONNOR HARDING

On team physicality

“I think in games like this, you’ve got to play with a lot of force. You’ve got to be physical back. In our offense, we want to get into the middle and then make plays. When they're downing, or they're playing aggressive, we've got to match that aggression and try to make plays for our teammates. Our mentality tonight was ‘we’ve got to be physical, we’ve got to get to the spots we want to get to and be able to make plays,’ and if not, you're not going to win games like that. I give credit to New Orleans tonight. They really tested us to see where we're at and see what we need to work on. “