Remembering Barrett Bevacqua: Lakeridge (Oregon) honors late Pacers great before, during emotional win

“First time I ever met him, he gave me a big hug. That’s Barrett.”

Lakeridge High School held a moment of silence Thursday in honor of former Pacers standout Barrett Bevacqua, who died in a plane crash last Tuesday night. He was 20.

Pacers coach Spencer Phillips recalled Bevacqua being a “wonderful human being.”

“First time I ever met him, he gave me a big hug,” Phillips said. “That’s Barrett. He was an amazing cook. He used to cook for our team before the games. He was a big part of the COVID year, so we spent a lot of time together and we bonded a lot with that senior class that year. 

“It’s unfortunate because we’ve had five deaths in three years (at Lakeridge), and it’s really, to excuse my language, really (expletive) hard — like, really hard. Being able to honor him at the game, as well as the team playing well, that’s really all I care about.”

Lakeridge earned an emotional 30-9 win over Tigard two days after Bevacqua's death. Read more about the Pacers' win here. 

Photos by Dan Brood 

Photo by Dan Brood, SBLive Sports

Photo by Dan Brood, SBLive Sports

Photo by Dan Brood, SBLive Sports

Photo by Dan Brood, SBLive Sports