Malibu, Calif. -- There weren't many BYU fans around Firestone Fieldhouse, but a really tall one gave a really big surprise to the Cougars.

Former center Trent Plaisted, who turned pro after last season, watched the Tuesday game against Pepperdine with his wife, Lacey.

"It seems like they are right on schedule," the 6-foot-11 center said. "They are in great hands with coach (Dave) Rose and the young guys are going to keep improving. The team is only going to get better and better."

Plaisted, who was drafted in the second round of the NBA draft, wound up in Italy. He's back in California rehabilitating a herniated disc. He's been back a couple of weeks getting cortisone shots. He said he'll go back to his European team in two weeks.

Plaisted watched the game from the bleachers, then approached the coaches after the 82-53 win.

It's not a very intimate setting at Pepperdine. The meeting took place right by the locker room, which also happens to be by the gym's main entrance and concession stand.

• Quick trip: Not many people hurry out of this small slice of southern California paradise, but BYU had reason to return home.

Three games in as many days await, starting Thursday in the Basketball Travelers Invitational.

So the Cougars flew a private plane home. They left the nearby Santa Barbara airport at 10:45 p.m. -- about 1 hour, 45 minutes after the final buzzer.

It would be the first such first-class adventure for some players.

Lamont Morgan, who redshirted last year but still traveled, thought players would enjoy it.

"You almost feel like you're really important," Morgan said. "You see it in the movies, and to do it was really cool. We just have to be humble, though. Realize we're doing it so we can get home faster, sleep in our own beds and starting getting ready for the games (after Pepperdine). We're grateful for the opportunity."

The teams coming to the tournament are North Florida, Rice and Cal Poly.

One of Rose's biggest improvements to the program, since taking over three seasons ago, was finding chartered planes (usually from BYU alumni or donors) that would be willing to help the team out.

Schools are required to pay for the service, but at many the plane owners will simply donate the money back.

Chartering is becoming more common across the country, including the Mountain West Conference.

Players would joke how cramped the planes can be. But everyone was excited to get home, especially coaches.

"We have a lot of work to do in the film room," Rose said. "(Wednesday) is a big day for us."

• Small crowd: BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe was joined by a small pocket of BYU fans behind the team's bench.

It was a relatively small Cougar gathering, however, compared to the team's past three trips to the Los Angeles area.

Rose has brought his team for a non-conference game all four seasons he's been coach. The Cougars have won the past two (Long Beach State, Pepperdine) after losing at USC and UCLA. But this one came without a noticeable attendance spike.

There wasn't much noise, besides that aforementioned pocket of fans when the road team did something.

Pepperdine doesn't have a football team, but it did know stuff about the Cougars. Some students called Jonathan Tavernari by his nickname, J.T., and a few mocked the visitors by saying that Utah was going to win Saturday in football.

• Tip-ins: Freshmen Noah Hartsock and Charles Abouo, forwards who will be a solid part of the rotation this year, scored their first college points. Hartsock, 6-foot-8 from Oklahoma, finished with six points, including a pair of free throws at 10:41 in the first half (13-7 BYU lead). Abouo, a Logan High graduate, had nine; his 3-pointer with 7:35 left gave the Cougars a 59-39 cushion. He also made all six of his free throws. ... Redshirt freshman point guard Matt Pinegar saw his first action at 3:14 remaining.