The Good & The Bad From BYU's Loss at Pepperdine

BYU dropped their first game in WCC play to a team not named Gonzaga on Wednesday afternoon. Here is the good and the bad from BYU's 76-73 loss at Pepperdine:

The good

After a dominant defensive performance against Pepperdine on Saturday night, Matt Haarms picked up right where he left off on the defensive end. He got a block on the first possession of the game and followed it up with an easy bucket on the other end to give BYU a 2-0 lead by himself.
Kolby Lee hit his first three of the game. BYU took a 7-3 lead into the first media timeout.
Great defense for the first five minutes of the game. Pepperdine started 1/10 from the field.
Great rotation led to a Caleb Lohner dunk to give BYU an 11-3 lead. Caleb Lohner had a few field goals in the early going - his progression has been notable.

Caleb Lohner hit his first three of the game. He had 7 of BYU's first 18 points. BYU had missed five consecutive field goals before the Lohner three. They also had one field goal in the prior six minutes before the Lohner three.
Spencer Johnson gave BYU a 21-17 lead with a baseline three. Johnson had been quiet over the last few games, but he played well against Pepperdine.
Nice floater by Brandon Averette gave BYU a 27-22 lead with five minutes remaining in the first half. Haarms made a nice move on the following possession to give BYU a 29-22 lead.
On the last offensive possession of the first half, Caleb Lohner grabbed a contested offensive rebound and forced a foul. The first half might have been Caleb Lohner's best half in a BYU uniform. He finished with 11 points to lead all scorers in the first half and he also added 4 rebounds.
BYU took a 37-32 lead into the halftime break.
On the first possession of the second half, Kolby Lee wrestled away an offensive rebound and converted with a field goal to push BYU's lead to seven. Barcello hit a three on the following possession to push BYU's lead to 10. Great start to the second half for BYU.
After Pepperdine cut BYU's lead to five, Spencer Johnson drove to the basket with the clock shot winding down and made a nice driving layup.

With the game tied at 52, Spencer Johnson made a great defensive play to get a steal and finish the three-point play at the other end.
Consecutive field goals for Richard Harward kept BYU in the game after he missed most of the game with foul trouble.
Great cut by Spencer Johnson fed by Kolby Lee to give BYU a 66-65 lead with five minutes to go.
A huge three by Spencer Johnson tied the game at 71 with two minutes remaining. Johnson played well on Wednesday, he finished with 15 points on 6/8 shooting.
Richard Harward tied the game at 73 with less than one minute remaining. Harward was BYU's best offensive weapon down the stretch.

The bad

Richard Harward called for two quick fouls after coming off the bench. He would sit for the rest of the first half.
Gideon George was a little too sticky with the ball on offense in the first half. He forced up a shot then had a turnover, he didn't play in the second half. If he can figure out a way to play within the flow of the offense he will be able to see more minutes.
With three minutes remaining in the first half, BYU was shooting 50% compared to 31% for Pepperdine. However, seven BYU turnovers kept the Cougars from building a larger lead in the first half.
After jumping out to a quick 11-point lead to start the second half. Pepperdine went on a run to take a lead of their own. Pepperdine led the game 49-48 with 12 minutes remaining - the Waves shot 6/7 from the field during that stretch. That Pepperdine's first lead of the game.
Turnovers hurt BYU throughout the game. BYU finished with 13 turnovers compared to 8 turnovers for Pepperdine.
So many fouls on both sides - the referees made their presence known on Wednesday afternoon. Both teams were in the double bonus with a few minutes remaining. I would have liked to see the referees let both sides play a little more down the stretch.
BYU struggled to get stops in the second half. Pepperdine shot 48% from the field, but they also grabbed six offensive rebounds in the second half to create second opportunities.
BYU just couldn't get defensive stops at the end of the game. A one-point Pepperdine lead ballooned to five with a few minutes remaining. BYU didn't have any margin for error on offense because they were struggling on the defensive side.
On a critical possession in the second half, BYU allowed four offensive rebounds before Pepperdine finally made a field goal. Plays like that one made all the difference - it felt like Pepperdine wanted it just a little bit more on Wednesday.
With the game tied at 73 and 45 seconds remaining, Connor Harding fouled Ross trying to deny the ball. Ross hit one of two free throws to give Pepperdine the 74-73 lead. BYU turned it over on the following possession and that was the game.