BYU's Nate Austin, right, battles for the ball with Pepperdines's Joshua Lowery, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Moraga, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Moraga, Calif. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Associated Press
MALIBU, Calif. — BYU rebounded nicely from its shocking home defeat at the hands of Loyola Marymount earlier in the week by defeating Pepperdine, 77-64, Saturday night.
Grades are in for the position groups and for their overall performance.
Frontcourt
Brandon Davies finished the game with 29 points, doing a lot of his work from the line where he went 15-of-18. Davies took good advantage of BYU's size advantage, particularly on the offensive end. He only accounted for six rebounds, but did tie for the team lead in assists with four.
Noah Hartsock had his typical effort, scoring 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting while blocking three shots.
Nate Austin provided some effective minutes off the bench, scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds in just nine minutes of play. Grade: B+
Wing
Charles Abouo put forth one of his better games of the year, scoring 15 points, grabbing nine rebounds and handing out four assists. His best work came late in the first half when BYU was able to build a big lead at the break.
Brock Zylstra had a very quiet game, hitting on just 1-of-6 shots for five points. Zylstra has the tendency to go quiet when Davies is dominating the lowpost and that bore out Saturday. Grade: B
Point
Matt Carlino struggled again and sat for much of the second half as BYU coach Dave Rose chose to go with Craig Cusick. He finished with no points and just two assists in 20 minutes of play.
Cusick did not attempt a shot from the field, scoring all four of his points from the line. He had just two assist on the night. Grade: C-
Overall
The Cougars struggled early before finding their stride toward the end of the second half. Pepperdine made some runs in the second, but the Cougars had little problem in holding them off.
It was important for the team to respond well following the loss to Loyola Marymount at home. The missing part on this team is effective play from the point with Carlino having two off games in a row. Once they get that, they'll again look like title contenders and a NCAA Tournament team. Grade: B
Email: bgurney@desnews.com
Twitter: @BrandonCGurney
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Not a tournament team. They could get hot, but, until Carlino and the guards mature, this team is too inconsistent on perimeter defense and offense to beat the better teams. Davis's senior year should be much better with more experience, perhaps a More..
RE: RockOn
"Not a tournament team."
I disagree. Most of the teams that make the tournament struggle with consistency during the year and occasionally have bad stretches. This is simply a bad stretch for the Cougs, More..
These "grades" are silly but I will respond. The Cougars need an offense grade and a defense grade. For example, we did not defend the post well -- but scored well.
Give Abouo credit for one of his best games. The guards fed More..