BYU Basketball Rides Big Second Half in Win Over Portland

BYU came out of a first half slump and rode better second half offense in a 71-58 win over Portland.

Portland forced BYU into double-digit first half turnovers and a 26-26 halftime score, but Gideon George, Atiki Ally Atiki, and others carried BYU’s offense in the second half versus a short handed Portland squad. Gideon George led BYU with 20 points and 9 rebounds while Atiki chipped in 8 points off the bench. Fousseyni Traore contributed 12 points with 8 boards.

BYU was sloppy once again with 19 turnovers, but defense kept BYU in it until the offense turned things around. BYU shot 49% from the floor and made nine threes while holding Portland to 38% shooting.

BYU moves to 12-5 on the season with the win and extends its winning streak to 7 games, its second longest in the Mark Pope era. BYU won 9 consecutive games Pope’s first year as head coach.

BYU heads to Southern California next week for road games at LMU and San Diego.