Haws scores 38 to lead Cougars past Pacific

BYU vs. Pacific Notes and Quotes

BYU vs. Pacific Box Score

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PROVO, Utah – Tyler Haws moved up to 10th place on BYU’s all-time scoring list with a 38-point performance to lead the BYU men’s basketball team to an 88-78 victory over Pacific on Thursday.

“I thought it was a hard fought game," BYU basketball coach Dave Rose said. "I thought our execution was good at times and our energy was good the whole game. You look at the stats and we had 17 offensive rebounds and 10 steals, and that tells you that our guys are active, involved and playing with good energy and urgency.”

Haws shot 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line for his 38 points, the most he has scored in the Marriott Center as a Cougar. Eric Mika tied a career-high with 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and a career-high three steals. Kyle Collinsworth added 10 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Skyler Halford also contributed 10 points.

Nate Austin added seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Matt Carlino finished with three points, six assists and two steals with Josh Sharp grabbing seven rebounds off the bench.

The Cougars (14-9, 6-4 WCC) and Tigers (11-9, 2-7 WCC) traded baskets early to start with BYU leading 8-7 five minutes into the game. Haws got off to a hot start scoring 21 of BYU’s first 25 points to put the Cougars up 25-16 midway through the first half. During the hot start, Haws was 8 of 9 from the field, 2 of 2 from three and 3 of 3 from the free throw line. Halford’s first points came on a 3-pointer with 8:54 remaining in the half to put BYU up 28-19.

Pacific responded with an 8-1 run before Collinsworth answered with back-to-back buckets on a spin move down the baseline for a layup and a putback on the next possession to push BYU’s lead back to seven at 33-26 with six minutes left. After a Pacific jumper, Haws got a block, which led to another Halford 3-pointer for a 36-28 lead. Austin’s putback dunk extended the lead to nine, and Haws followed with his third 3-pointer to send BYU into the locker room with a 45-34 lead at the half.

Haws finished the half with 24 points and hit 3 of 3 from beyond the arc, with Halford contributing seven points. Austin also added six points and seven rebounds.

Mika completed a three-point play after a steal by Haws early in the second half to extend BYU's lead to 49-36. The Tigers answered with a 9-0 run to cut their deficit to four. Haws scored the next seven points for the Cougars to push BYU's lead back to nine at 56-47 with 14:50 remaining. Carlino’s first field goal came from beyond the arc and it was followed by a Collinsworth feed to Mika in traffic as the Cougars extended their lead to 63-47.

With 10:24 remaining, Mika completed another three-point play, which was followed by a Carlino steal and a behind-the-back pass to Haws for a layup to extend the lead to 70-56. Haws' layup gave him 33 points and 1,681 points for his career to pass Brandon Davies for 10th all-time in scoring in BYU history. Halford connected on another 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run with Mika’s consecutive baskets giving BYU a 23-point lead with under five minutes left.

The Cougars outrebounded Pacific 35-24, with 17 being offensive rebounds, to lead to 22 second-chance points.

BYU stays at home to take on Saint Mary’s on Saturday at 9 p.m. MST. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast on the Cougar IMG Sports Network on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM.