BYU men’s basketball coach Mark Pope decided to make a change in his starting lineup for Thursday’s game against Loyola Marymount. On Wednesday after practice, Pope pulled aside Jaxson Robinson to tell him he would be coming off the bench after the sophomore had started the previous 24 games.

Robinson was mad — but not for the reason you might think.

“I sat down with Jax and I was like, ‘listen, I think I’m going to tweak this lineup,'” Pope said. “‘We’re going to do A, B and C,’ trying to gently talk to him about the possibility of coming off the bench because that matters. And it was actually one of my happiest moments coaching this year, because Jax doesn’t usually get too animated, but he was. He got super angry at me. You could hear it in his voice. He said, ‘I don’t care about starting. I just want to play and I just want to win.’

“It was the perfect response to a conversation like that, and they usually go so different. The fact that this is how he felt and that was emotion he expressed, and then the way he played tonight, that was great.”

Robinson played 24 minutes in BYU’s 89-61 rout of Loyola Marymount on Thursday, making four of his first five shots and finishing with 13 points, three rebounds, an assist and zero turnovers.

“We’re really young but one of the things we’re blessed with is that we have tremendous character on this team and I’m super proud of Jaxson,” Pope said.

Robinson’s replacement in the starting lineup, Noah Waterman, scored five points in 21 minutes but Pope and junior Spencer Johnson made note of his hustle plays, diving on the floor after loose balls early in the game.

“Noah has been learning urgency and his feel for what urgency means on the defensive end,” Pope said. “His communication on the court is getting much better. I was really proud of him tonight because he came with terrific focus.”

It was a night where a lot of different contributions resulted in a blowout victory.

Robinson said he’s always been willing to do whatever was needed to make his team successful.

“It wasn’t really a certain time (that he realized it),” Robinson said. “It’s really always been my mindset. As long as I’m out there on the floor, eventually, playing basketball, that’s all that matters to me. I love the game of basketball, so whenever I’m out there I jus want to do what I can.”

Scouting Report

The Cougars take on Pacific on Saturday at the Marriott Center, a rematch of the West Coast Conference opener in Stockton on Dec. 29. The Tigers shot just 24% (7 of 29) from the field in the first half, trailing 36-23 at the break. BYU led by 13 at halftime and went on to claim a 69-49 victory.

Pacific has proven to have potential to pull off an upset, knocking off Santa Clara 95-89 last week. On Thursday, the Tigers beat Pepperdine 81-72 despite shooting just 41% (30 of 73) from the field and 29% (7 of 24) from beyond the arc.

What turned the game in their favor was a huge win in the turnover battle. Pacific had just five turnovers to 16 for Pepperdine, which resulted in a 21-7 advantage in points off of turnovers.

BYU had a season-low seven turnovers against Loyola Marymount in Thursday’s victory, a far cry from their normal average of nearly 16 per game.

“It felt great tonight,” said Johnson, who led the Cougars with 14 points. “I think the feel of the game all started with Noah diving on the floor and grabbing a few loose balls. That got us feeling we came to win and put us in a really good rhythm. I’m super proud of all our guys because seven turnovers as a team is incredible. We are taking care of the ball a lot better.”

Pope said Pacific, which is tied for third in the WCC with LMU, is “the surprise of the league this year.” The Tigers play a guard-oriented lineup that shoots well from the 3-point line and defends hard.

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