'No free lunch:' Gavin Baxter's first start yields career night in BYU basketball's 67-49 win over LMU

PROVO — Every time a lob left McKay Cannon's hands, Gavin Baxter started to jump.

A few times, he needed every inch of his 6-foot, 9-inch frame to throw down a jam or spin for a layup.

But he still managed to throw the ball down, to the delight of the 11,643 fans in the Marriott Center.

"I’ve got to make him work for it," Cannon joked with Baxter after Saturday night's 67-49 win over Loyola Marymount.

To which Baxter responded: "No free lunch."

Baxter earned his lunch against the Lions, pouring in his first career double-double with a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds as BYU rallied form a halftime deficit to blow past Loyola Marymount, 67-49 in the Marriott Center.

Nick Emery added a season-best 17 points, including five 3-pointers, off the bench for BYU, which rebounded from a 30-point home loss to Gonzaga two nights ago. TJ Haws added 9 points and two assists, while BYU’s leading scorer Yoeli Childs was held to 6 points and nine rebounds.

Baxter, who prepped at nearby Timpview High, capped a 16-2 run midway through the second half with a thunderous throw down from Emery that gave the Cougars a 46-32 lead with 11:47 left to play.

While Baxter has been coming into his own lately, it wasn't until Saturday night that he achieved full "breakout" status.

That prompted several chants of "M-V-P" and "Ga-vin! Bax-ter!" from the BYU student section. The chants never died down throughout the night, culminating with his status as the top player in the game.

"It was awesome. I've grown up here, and always wanted to play at BYU," said Baxter, who finished with four dunks. "To get my first career start and have a night like tonight, with all the fans, it was just awesome.

"I don’t think you could’ve scripted it any better than it happened."

The 16-2 spurt was part of a larger 28-6 run to open the second half, as BYU turned a 3-point halftime deficit into a 19-point lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Damaene Douglas led LMU (16-7, 4-5 WCC) with 10 points and seven rebounds, and 7-footer Mattias Markusson had 9 points and six boards.

Meanwhile, James Batemon — the Lions' leading scorer who averages 17.4 points per game, including 19 in a 60-42 win over Pacific two nights previous — was held scoreless, going 0-for-8 from the field and 0-for-3 from 3-point range.

Credit Cannon for that defensive effort. Or credit his team, as the humble-mannered Weber State transfer might prefer. It's all the same to him.

"That’s becoming a habit for him as far as he is a defensive player," BYU coach Dave Rose said of Cannon. "He's really taken a step forward in the last month or so.

"Sometimes we really miss him on the floor in the role that he plays. He’s a great facilitator, and he understands the game plan. He leaves it all out there."

Baxter’s first career start paid off early, too, giving the Cougars 5 points and three rebounds in the first seven minutes to hang with a big LMU squad that includes eight players standing 6-foot-5 or taller — including the 7-foot-3 Markusson from Stockholm, Sweden.

But for all their success, the Cougars still trailed 26-23 at halftime two nights after a 30-point home loss to No. 4 Gonzaga, the worst home defeat in the Dave Rose era.

Rose wasn't happy at halftime, either.

"He felt like we were fortunate to only be down three," Cannon recalled. "All of the coaches really let us have it. We came out with energy, and I hope he’s happy now."

The Cougars went to work in the second half.

Baxter scored back-to-back in the paint, including a dunk that gave BYU a 27-26 edge. From there, the Cougars went on a 16-2 run to take a 41-32 advantage, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Baxter and Nick Emery about seven minutes into the half.

By the time the Lions got to the final 10 minutes, they trailed by 19 points, and couldn't make up the difference.

With all of its size in the post, LMU was out-scored 36-20 in the paint and only held a 30-29 rebounding advantage. And that was with a quiet night from Childs, the Cougars' top scorer who averages 21.2 points and 9.5 rebounds.

"We don’t normally go after guys and get guys in foul trouble. But I thought it was important that we go right at their big kid," Rose said. "He changes the game when he's on the floor, and we went right at him. The guys executed great. We got an early two fouls on him, then they took him out, put him back in and he got a third foul."

Of course, having a player go off the way Baxter did helped.

"He played great; you all got to see it," Cannon said. "I've seen bits and pieces of that throughout the year in practice. But he got the opportunity, and made the most of it. I’m very happy for him. It was fun to see him be successful; you want that for everyone."

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