Alex Barcello's career night keeps BYU's NCAA Tourney dreams afloat at Pepperdine

PROVO — That sound you heard coming from the shores of Malibu wasn't the bursting of BYU's NCAA Tournament bubble late.

It was Alex Barcello waking up from his slumber.

Just a few hours after Shaylee Gonzales posted a career-high 35 points in a road win over Saint Mary's, Barcello dropped a career-high of his own with 33 points, including nine 3-pointers — just one shy of Chase Fischer's school record — to help the Cougars hold off Pepperdine 91-85 late Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California.

"It feels so good to win again, and I think it's the push that we need right now after that four-game losing streak," Barcello told BYU Radio after his performance. "We're building back our confidence; we've just got to continue to stress that we've got to guard guys and communicate with each other. I think that's what is going to give us the push headed into March."

Caleb Lohner also broke off the shackles of his previous disappointments, erupting for 14 points — his highest offensive output since scoring 17 points on Jan. 13 in a loss at Gonzaga. The sophomore from Dallas who prepped at nearby Wasatch Academy had 13 total points in his previous four games, including 2 or fewer against LMU, Gonzaga, San Francisco and Santa Clara, but finished shooting 6 of 7 with two 3-pointers, four rebounds and two assists.

Spencer Johnson added 12 points and four rebounds for BYU, which kept its NCAA Tournament at-large hopes narrowly afloat by improving to 19-8, with a 7-5 record in West Coast Conference play. Te'Jon Lucas scored 10 points with a team-high seven assists for the Cougars.

But the night belonged to Barcello, who combined to shoot just 8 of 25 from the field in his previous two games. The senior Arizona transfer shot 10 of 12 from the field, 9 of 10 from 3-point range, and added four free throws,

"This Alex Barcello keeps adding to the incredible legacy he has," BYU coach Mark Pope said. "It's incredible.

"I've never seen 33 on 12 shots in my lifetime — and with only four free throws? I just told these 8-year-old kids, they just saw history," he added while impromptly taking the headset on a postgame radio interview with Barcello. "They'll probably never see that kind of a game again, and it has nothing to do with coaching. That's just greatness."

Still, the Cougars, who led by as much as 13 in the second half, led by as little as six with 8:08 remaining thanks in large part to a career scoring night from freshman Houston Mallette. The freshman scored 31 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including five 3-pointers, to go along with two assists and two rebounds to keep the Waves close to a BYU team playing without center Fousseyni Traore — the Cougars' third significant injury to a post player on the season.

Jan Zidek scored 20, and Pepperdine cut the deficit as low as three down the stretch. But Lucas did all his scoring in the final four minutes, and BYU made just enough free throws down the stretch to never give up the lead to head coach Lorenzo Romar's young Waves squad playing shorthanded themselves.

"Coach Romar is a great coach; I was with him at Arizona, and he's got a great style and highly talented players," Barcello said. "They've got a group of young guys who are really good. They're going to leave their mark on the WCC in years to come."

Traore reportedly hurt his foot in the closing moments of the Cougars' overtime win at Loyola Marymount two days prior, BYU coach Mark Pope told CBS Sports Network. Atiki Ally Atiki posted 8 points and seven rebounds off the bench for BYU.

Yet somehow, the Cougars outrebounded the hosts 30-16, including holding Pepperdine to just two offensive rebounds and scoreless in second-chance opportunities.

Of course, there weren't many offensive boards to go around, either. BYU shot 64% from the field, and the Waves were 59%, including 63% from the field and 6 of 11 from three in the second half.

"I don't think he's ever played much more than 20 minutes, and he goes 4 for 8 with eight rebounds and only turnovers," Pope said of Ally Atiki. "That's huge for him. He's plus-28 in the plus-minus. He was a massive difference maker for us tonight when we desperately needed him.

"We needed that, and he crushed it. He's come a long way."

Every game is a must-win at this point in the season, Pope said. ESPN's Joe Lunardi listed the Cougars as the last team in the 68-team NCAA Tournament prior to the game, and that likely won't change with the win. BYU went from enjoying a top-30 NET ranking and working toward improving tournament seeding as high as a potential six-seed to living life on the fringe of the bubble with two weeks left in the regular season.

That won't change, either, after Saturday's 6-point win against the last-place team in the conference.

"I'm not going to lie: it felt like the world was ending. It was not a good feeling," Barcello said of the past three weeks. "We had to dig deep, do a little bit of soul searching. Our goals are still the same. … Not every season is going to go perfectly. And it gut-checked us."

Keep winning, keep alive the hope — even if it is more fleeting than it may have been three weeks ago — of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. That becomes easier said than done as BYU prepares for a road game next Saturday at Saint Mary's — a 22nd-ranked Gaels squad that pushed No. 2 Gonzaga early before falling 74-58.

But all they can do is more of what the Cougars did in a sweep of the Los Angeles schools: keeping winning; keep grinding.

For Barcello, that may mean keep shooting, even if the 49% season shooter has prided himself on efficiency.

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