ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ guard Alex Barcello, left, looks around the Washington State defense during what turned into the Wildcats' fifth straight loss, Feb. 9, 2019. Barcello hit a couple of big shots to help UA stick around in another loss to Utah on Thursday.
SALT LAKE CITY — If there’s one good thing about losing six straight games for the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats, maybe it’s the ability to see who really still wants to play.
During ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s 83-76 loss at Utah on Thursday, sophomore guard Alex Barcello was one of those guys.
In the 42 seconds after Sedrick Barefield hit a 3-pointer to put Utah ahead by 16 points with just 6:23 to go Thursday, Barcello hit a 3-pointer and a midrange jumper while also helping the Wildcats successfully defend 3-point attempts from Barefield and Donnie Tillman over the next minute.
Playing the final 7:42 of the game, Barcello finished by scoring seven of his 12 points in the second half, helping UA avoid yet another embarrassing blowout loss.
“We’re gonna battle to the end,†Barcello said. “ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is a great program and it’s never been known for giving up so that’s what we’re going to carry on. We’re gonna continue to work our butts off and get better and that was the energy we had. We weren’t going to give up. We were going to keep battling however the game was going.â€
It wasn’t the first time Barcello had failed to give up. He could have at literally any point this season.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ guard Alex Barcello had 12 points off the bench against Utah, and helped the Wildcats battle back late.
Called the team’s best shooter in the preseason by Miller, Barcello played only single-digit minutes for six straight games until Jan. 17 against Oregon. In the six games since, he still made only 5 of 15 3-pointers total and had just two points against Washington on Feb. 7.
Yet when asked after Thursday’s game how he’s held up personally, Barcello said he’s stuck with things just fine.
“Coach tells me every day to honor the process so I’m just trying to focus on getting better, but nothing’s better than winning,†Barcello said. “That’s all I want right now. That’s what we all want, is a win, so we’re focused on that.â€
Barcello tried to get the Wildcats there on Thursday with what was his most significant production of the season; his season high of 16 points came in UA’s blowout win over Georgia Southern on Nov. 29.
But with center Chase Jeter fouling out, Brandon Williams remaining sidelined, and Utah pounding the ball inside with ease as the game went on, it wasn’t going to happen.
“Our guys fought to the end and I thought the last four minutes of the game was a good segment for us,†Miller said. “Instead of the score going one way we kind of brought it back.
“I credit Utah. They had a great second half, they broke the game open. If you really watched the game closely, their advantage in strength, size, physicality, is certainly overwhelming and they overwhelmed us.â€
