BYU vs. Santa Clara Notes & Quotes

BYU vs. Santa Clara Box Score

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LAS VEGAS – Senior Tyler Haws hit the game-winning shot and scored a game-high 30 points to lead No. 2 seed BYU over Santa Clara 78-76 in the West Coast Conference quarterfinals Saturday night.

"I have to give a lot of credit to the Santa Clara team," BYU men's basketball coach Dave Rose said. "It was hard fought battle. It’s the kind of game you expect this time of year in March. We ended up making one more play than they did. We’re happy for the win and look forward to our next challenge and the test we have in playing Portland on Monday night."

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Haws added a season-high nine rebounds on the night while Kyle Collinsworth finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Skyler Halford contributed nine points off the bench with Corbin Kaufusi adding seven points, a career-high seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in the win. Anson Winder also scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds.

The Cougars and Broncos traded baskets to start the game with Collinsworth scoring nine of BYU’s first 13 points to give it a 13-12 lead at the 14:32 mark. With under 10 minutes left in the half, Santa Clara jumped out to a 22-18 lead, but was answered by four-straight free throws by Haws and Kaufusi to tie it at 22 apiece.

With 4:41 on the clock, Haws’ free throws and layup tied the game at 28, but the Broncos came back with a 5-0 run to take a 33-28 lead with less than three minutes left in the half. A 7-0 run that included four points from Haws and a triple from Halford gave BYU a 35-33 lead at the 1:17 mark. Santa Clara’s Jared Brownridge responded with his fifth 3-pointer of the game to give the Broncos a 36-35 lead, but was tied at the half after Kaufusi’s free throw.

BYU entered halftime tied at 36-36 with Haws leading the team with 14 points. Collinsworth followed with nine points with Halford and Kaufusi adding five points each.

SCU opened the second half scoring the first two baskets, but the Cougars reeled off a quick 6-0 run to take a 42-40 lead after Chase Fischer connected from deep at the 16:30 mark. Kaufusi’s putback ignited another 7-0 BYU run that included Kaufusi’s dish to Collinsworth for a dunk and a triple by Winder to extend the lead to 56-48 with 11:03 left in the game.

Haws went on a solo 6-0 run to push the lead up to eight at 67-59 with 7:16 remaining. The Broncos chipped away at their deficit to make it a one-point game, but was answered by consecutive drives by Halford to put BYU back up 74-69 with 3:52 on the clock.

Santa Clara came back to tie the game at 76 apiece with 26 seconds left despite the Cougars’ five-point lead at the 1:22 mark. Out of BYU’s timeout, Haws connected on a jumper from the top of the key with 2.5 seconds left for the game-winner and the 78-76 win. 

BYU outrebounded SCU 36-32 and outscored its bench 20-6 in the victory.

The Cougars advance to the WCC semifinals to take on No. 6 seed Portland on Monday at 8:30 p.m. PDT. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast on the Cougar IMG Sports Network on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM. 

Game Notes: WCC Quarterfinals

No. 2 seed BYU basketball will play the winner of No. 7 seed Santa Clara and No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount Saturday at 8 p.m. PST in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Championships in the Orleans Arena. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast live on the Cougar IMG Sports Network on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.

Storylines

• BYU is second country in scoring at 84.0 points per game
• Guard Tyler Haws, named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20, the Naismith Midseason Top 30, a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and a Jerry West Award candidate, is third in the country in scoring at 21.9 points per game
• Haws is first on the BYU career scoring list and 29th all-time in NCAA history with 2,624 points
• Guard Kyle Collinsworth, a Bob Cousy Award candidate, has recorded an NCAA single-season record five triple-doubles and is one away from tying the career record
• Senior guard Skyler Halford has been playing his best basketball as a Cougar over the last 13 games, averaging 13.0 points while shooting 55.0 percent from the field and 52.7 percent from three

No. 2 seed BYU Cougars (23-8, 13-5 WCC)

• Head Coach: Dave Rose
• Alma Mater: Houston, 1983
• Career Record: 255-86 (10th)
• Record at BYU: Same

No. 7 seed Santa Clara Broncos (13-17, 7-11 WCC)

• Head Coach: Kerry Keating
• Alma Mater: Seton Hall, 1993
• Career Record: 127-138 (8th)
• Record at Santa Clara: Same

No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount Lions (8-22, 4-14 WCC)

• Head Coach: Mike Dunlap
• Alma Mater: LMU, 1980
• Career Record: 336-127 (15th)
• Record at LMU: 8-22 (1st)

Game Information

• TV: ESPN2
• TV Talent: Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Stan Heath (analyst)
• Live Video: WatchESPN.com
• Radio: Cougar IMG Sports Network, KSL 102.7 FM / 1160 AM, BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143
• Radio Talent: Greg Wrubell (play-by-play), Mark Durrant (analyst)
• Live Audio/Stats: BYUcougars.com