Remembering Barrett Bevacqua: Lakeridge (Oregon) honors late Pacers great before, during emotional win

“First time I ever met him, he gave me a big hug. That’s Barrett.”

Lakeridge High School held a moment of silence Thursday in honor of former Pacers standout Barrett Bevacqua, who died in a plane crash last Tuesday night. He was 20.

Pacers coach Spencer Phillips recalled Bevacqua being a “wonderful human being.”

“First time I ever met him, he gave me a big hug,” Phillips said. “That’s Barrett. He was an amazing cook. He used to cook for our team before the games. He was a big part of the COVID year, so we spent a lot of time together and we bonded a lot with that senior class that year. 

“It’s unfortunate because we’ve had five deaths in three years (at Lakeridge), and it’s really, to excuse my language, really (expletive) hard — like, really hard. Being able to honor him at the game, as well as the team playing well, that’s really all I care about.”

Lakeridge earned an emotional 30-9 win over Tigard two days after Bevacqua's death. Read more about the Pacers' win here. 

Photos by Dan Brood