Five in double figures as BYU wins at Santa Clara

BYU at Santa Clara box score
BYU at Santa Clara postgame notes and quotes

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Tyler Haws finished with a game-high 24 points and three steals to lead BYU men’s basketball to an 82-64 road victory against Santa Clara on Saturday. With the win the Cougars improve to 14-4 overall and 4-0 in the West Coast Conference while Santa Clara falls to 12-6 overall and 1-3 in the WCC.

“There’s no question the key to this win was the team’s effort,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “It was the best I’ve seen for a full 40 minutes all season. We had our ups and downs, but it never affected how hard we played. Our guys never felt sorry for themselves and never stopped playing with supreme effort. We really needed everyone in this game. Santa Clara is a great team. ”

Brock Zylstra finished with 15 points, Matt Carlino and Brandon Davies both scored 13 and Anson Winder added a season-high 10 points off the bench. As a team, BYU shot 53.6 percent from the field (30 of 56), and 50.0 percent from three (6 of 12).

Kevin Foster led Santa Clara with a team-high 22 points and Marc Trasolini added 17 points and 14 rebounds.

BYU led by nine at the half (41-32) but Santa Clara fought back to tie the score at 50-all with 13:37 to play. Zylstra gave the lead back to the Cougars with a step-back jumper from the free throw line and from there BYU ran away from the Broncos. Zylstra’s jumper was the start of an 18-0 run that included points from six different players and saw Santa Clara miss seven-straight shots and turn the ball over three times.

Haws scored six points during the run while Carlino registered four of his eight assists and got two makes of his own to cap the 18-0 spurt. Santa Clara cut the lead to 13 twice but Haws responded with two free throws and a three to push the Cougar advantage back to 16 at 73-57. BYU led by as much as 21 before closing out the 82-64 win.

Santa Clara scored the game’s first points on an Evan Roquemore jumper, but BYU responded with buckets from Haws, Davies and Zylstra for a 6-2 lead.

BYU and Santa Clara exchanged baskets over the next few minutes until Raymond Cowels III hit his third three of the night to tie the game at 13. Haws answered the Cowels three with back-to-back baskets for a 17-13 advantage. Santa Clara led at 18-17 and 21-20 but a Carlino three swung the lead back to BYU. The Cougars held the lead the rest of the game except for the 26 seconds in the second half when the game was knotted at 50-apiece.

BYU closed the first half strong, expanding a 35-31 lead to 41-32 with a 6-1 run. Winder scored the first four points of the run on a layup and two free throws and Josh Sharp scored the last points of the half.

Santa Clara out-scored BYU 18-9 in the first 6:23 of the second half. Foster led the charge with 13 points for the Broncos, the last coming on a free throw that tied the game at 50-all. From there the Cougars took over to win their sixth-straight, the team’s longest winning streak since the 2010-11 season.

BYU returns to the Marriott Center on Wednesday, Jan. 16, for a matchup with WCC foe Saint Mary's at 9 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on ESPNU and broadcast on KSL 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.