Field Level Media
05 Dec 2021, 05:10 GMT+10
Alex Barcello scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and Te'jon Lucas added 17 points as No. 12 BYU (7-1) rebounded from its first loss to earn a hard-fought 74-68 win over Missouri State (4-4) in Springfield, Mo.
Spencer Johnson contributed 14 points and Caleb Lohner chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds for the Cougars, who wrapped up a three-game road trip. BYU's six-game undefeated streak ended Wednesday night in overtime at Utah Valley.
Jaylen Minnett (19 points), Gaige Prim (17 points) and Lu'cye Patterson (16 points on 8-10 shooting) had strong showings for the Bears, who made a game out of it after falling behind by 14 points in the second half.
After MSU went 9- 1/2 minutes without a made basket in a stretch that spanned both halves, Minnett finally ended the drought with a jumper at the 16:34 mark of the second half. That ended BYU's 6-0 run and opened things up for the Bears, who roared back from a 14-point deficit with a 9-2 run that ended with a Minnett 3.
Missouri State continued to chip away at the lead, pulling within one on multiple occasions, including at 63-62 after a Gaige Prim inside shot with 1:38 remaining.
As was the case all game, though, BYU had an answer to MSU's challenge. Barcello scored on the next possession and then Lohner followed with a bucket to give the visitors a 67-62 lead with under a minute left. Seneca Knight had some key defensive plays to lift the Cougars.
BYU hit 7 of 10 free throws in the final 38 seconds to wrap it up.
Both teams had early 5-0 runs and then went back and forth for much of the first half.
MSU's Keaton Hervey made a layup with 6:10 remaining in the half to cut BYU's lead to one at 24-23. However, the Bears didn't hit a basket the rest of the half, and the Cougars took a 35-27 lead into the break after closing out on an 11-4 surge.
Johnson led BYU in that first half with 12 points, including three 3s.
BYU opened the second half with six straight points to go up by 14, 41-27, before Missouri State finally started hitting shots again.
Isiaih Mosley, the Bears' leading scorer, went scoreless in just seven minutes.
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