Seneca Knight gave BYU a big boost off the bench offensively in Thursday’s 79-71 victory against San Diego, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the first half.

Cougar coach Mark Pope said Knight’s defensive contribution was just as critical.

“It’s a really important matchup for us because they (San Diego) played so big,” Pope said. “Seneca was really important for us defensively. His numbers are great defensively for us and he was really, really terrific handling that physicality. And then he helped us out in transition. It’s really convenient that we can play a big three.”

The 6-foot-6 Knight had a long path to get to Provo, playing at San Jose State and transferring to LSU before choosing to return to the transfer portal. That’s where BYU invited the former 17-points-per-game scoring to carve our a new role in the Cougar program.

“He’s done an unbelievable job, but growing is hard, right?” Pope said. “He’s in a new situation. He’s on a top 25 team right now. That is where everything that matters is different. The attention to detail is different. The focus on how we play together is different. Winning is what matters most and that’s actually a learning process.

“You don’t just walk into a program like we have. You have to learn how to act. You have to learn how to carry yourself. You have to learn what decisions are right. You have to learn what’s important and what’s not important. To Seneca’s credit, he’s been really trying and willing to try and learn what all that means. We got to see some some of the results of it tonight.”

In his past five games, Knight is averaging 9.8 points and shooting 47% from the field.

Soldiering On

As one of the best players in the country, you would expect BYU’s Alex Barcello to get a lot of favorable calls from officials.

Curiously, the star treatment doesn’t seem to apply to Barcello, who regularly takes a beating during games with very few calls going his way. At USF, Barcello was clearly pushed in the back on a jumper but there was no call. In the second half against San Diego, Barcello was undercut on a drive and ended up in a heap under the basket. His shot was good but the Toreros took advantage and scored on a layup on the other end.

On the defensive side, Barcello was shoved to the ground by a driving USD player but the game played on.

It all become a bit much for the usually stoic senior. Late in the second half, Barcello turned the corner dribbling the ball and was essentially body blocked by a USD defender directly in front of a referee, but no call was made. Barcello stared at the official for a beat before tossing the ball to a teammate and continuing on.

For all the abuse, Barcello said he doing fine.

“I feel good,” he said. “Not so great after games, but I try to stay up with my treatment and just get with our trainer, Rob (Ramos), and then get get with our strength coach, Coach (Erick) Schork. I’m just try to make sure my body is staying right and then we’re smart at practice with reps and just making sure that they are game-like reps. We just try to be as efficient as possible. I’m trying to just keep my body as intact as I can.”

Scouting Report

When Shantay Legans left Eastern Washington to take over the Portland program last spring, the rebuilding job was real.

Only two players – junior guard Miles Turner and junior forward Wyatt Watson – remain on the roster from the final Damon Stoudamire-coached team in the Rose City, which produced a 6-15 overall mark and an 0-11 record in West Coast Conference play last season.

Legans hit the transfer portal in a big way and so far the returns have been solid. The Pilots (1-2 WCC, 10-8 overall) score the ball well and take advantage at the free throw line, where they are No. 1 in the country at 81.6%.

Chris Austin, who transferred from Fordham, leads Portland with 14.7 points per game. UNLV transfer Moses Wood (14.2 ppg) and Eastern Washington transfer Tyler Robertson (13.9 ppg) give the Pilots a good guard line that will be a challenge for BYU’s defenders. Five Portland players have made at least 17 3-point shots.

BYU – now all alone in second place in the WCC with a 4-1 record – can’t afford a let down at home where it has won 11 straight games.

“I’m so happy for these guys because they’ve earned the right that every every game is massive,” Pope said. “Every single game matters. We’ve been really blessed. The last three years Alex has been through this where, if you’re really good, then every single game is so huge, and there’s so much pressure on every single possession of every single game. And that’s how we feel right now. It’s pretty great and it’s fun. These guys are taking us on a fun ride, man.”

Men’s College Basketball

Portland (1-2, 10-8) at BYU (4-1, 16-4)

Saturday, 7 p.m. MT

Marriott Center, Provo

TV: BYUtv

Radio: KSL 1160 AM/102.7 FM, BYU Radio, Sirius XM 143/BYU radio app

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU leads the overall series with Portland 24-2. .. The Cougars are 13-0 against the Pilots in Provo. …

Portland’s last win in the series was in 2016. … Mark Pope (60-19) is the first BYU coach to reach 60 wins in fewer than 80 games. … The Pilots lead the country in free throw percentage (81.6%)

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