Charles Abouo's shooting makes BYU's 3-point tally look a little better

PROVO — Charles Abouo felt the magic right out of the chute Saturday in BYU's 86-48 blowout of Pepperdine in the Marriott Center.

Abouo ran out on the court on fire against the Waves and finished with 23 points on 7 of 11 shots. It helped immensely that he didn't have his traditional two personal fouls in two minutes.

Yes, making 3-point shots is key for BYU.

It's a magic that's eluded the 21-6 Cougars the previous six games when Dave Rose's squad made just 17 field goals from beyond the arc. In the previous six games, Abouo had made just 4 of 20 as the Cougars lost their hold as the WCC's top 3-point shooting team to rank sixth heading into the weekend.

Abouo and Anson Winder each hit their first two shots from distance and the Cougars didn't miss from beyond the arc until freshman Damarcus Harrison misfired from that range six and a half minutes after the tip.

BYU then kind of crashed for a second from distance when Abouo, Matt Carlino and Craig Cusick all missed 3-pointers on the same possession. It was like mining Twinkies out of a veggie stand.

But for Pepperdine, the damage was done, dents applied. The firepower applied by Abouo and Winder knocked the Waves out of the game before it really got started.

That is the power of 3-point shots and importance of having it in your arsenal.

BYU made 6 of 16 threes (37 percent) in the first half and repeated that exact number in the second stanza, finishing the afternoon 12 of 32.

So, is the slump over?

Not quite. Saturday BYU's 37 percent from beyond the arc came against an 8-17 Pepperdine, not a ranked St. Mary's or Gonzaga.

Those who were not Abouo or Winder went 4 of 17 from beyond the arc for 23 percent. Not good.

Actually, that isn't fair to Cusick (1 for 2). What would Cusick have done with five attempts? History says, just fine.

"Our guys spent a lot of time on the 3-point shooting and with the bye, they had fresh legs and were able to control the pace of the game," said Rose.

The drought may not be over, but almost equaling the number of 3-point makes in the previous six games in one game could be called progress.

I asked Abouo if shooting long shots against a struggling opponent you are supposed to dominate is easier or tougher than doing so against a team like St. Mary's where the game is tighter and more competitive.