Rebounding after stunning losses becoming a habit for BYU basketball


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PROVO — Still reeling from a stunning loss at San Diego, the BYU men’s basketball team will look to rebound Thursday night at 7 p.m. MT against Pepperdine.

It’s a habit the Cougars (13-6, 4-2 West Coast Conference) hope to continue.

“We were disappointed going into San Diego; our mindset wasn’t right,” said sophomore Nick Emery, who averages 15.1 points per game but scored just eight against the Toreros. “But one thing about BYU is that we bounce back from our losses. We learn from our losses. That’s what we’re doing right now; we’re learning from the loss we just had, and I think we’ll be ready for Pacific and Pepperdine.”

BYU will try to avoid its first run of back-to-back losses since a stunning 114-101 loss to Utah Valley on Nov. 26.

Recent history, of course, says it shouldn’t be difficult. Pepperdine (5-13) is just 1-5 in WCC play and comes into the Marriott Center having lost 12 of its last 13 games, with an injury and illness-riddled roster of eight scholarship players, including last week’s loss to Santa Clara.

The Waves are 8-10 all-time against the Cougars with most of those wins coming at home in Malibu, California. After the trip to Provo, Pepperdine immediately returns to California, with No. 23 Saint Mary’s in its sights.

Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

The Waves are led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Lamond Murray, Jr. (20.1 ppg), Jeremy Major (11.2 ppg) and Utah transfer Chris Reyes (15.0 ppg). But Pepperdine adds just 34 points from the rest of its roster, and the Waves suited up as few as 10 players a week ago.

“The three seniors are carrying them, and they are really good players,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “Our challenge is to make sure they don’t have a really good night.”

BYU center Eric Mika, who is averaging 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, saw significant trouble against the USD double-team while he was held well below his average, scoring just 11 points.

Still, the sophomore finished with 15 rebounds, four assists and four blocks against the Torero and said he’s learned how to fight off the double-coverage he will likely see for the remainder of the season.

“It was a little different because they came every time from different places,” Mika said. “They would wait to come, and came late once I got a foot or two in the paint. That was a little different.

“But defensively, I learned a lot from it.”

Rose added the rest of BYU’s team will need to help Mika when opponents take exception to the big man’s post presence. That includes freshman Yoeli Childs, who had just six points and three rebounds in San Diego, and TJ Haws, who rattled off a career-high 27 points with six 3-pointers against the Toreros.

Facing an opponent that has just one win in conference play and is struggling from the field, the Cougars have a chance to reset their own course Thursday night.

“The most important thing is that we stay together,” Rose said. “When we have challenges, and we stress the same thing after big wins, there is a reason why things happen the way they happen.”

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