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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Noah Hartsock admits he doesn't have the greatest leaping ability, nor is he the tallest player on the court.
What the Brigham Young senior has is smarts, and a lot of determination.
He used that combination Saturday to help the Cougars cruise to a 79-65 victory over Oregon, scoring a career-high 23 points, with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.
"Coach was a little worried coming in, but the way we played tonight, the emotion we had, is really a big step forward," said the 6-foot-8 Hartsock, the only BYU player to score in double figures every game this season.
It was the first double-double for Hartsock this season and fourth of his career.
With the win, BYU (6-2) halted the Ducks' four-game winning streak and dropped Oregon to 4-2.
Reserve Stephen Rogers added 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, and Nate Austin added nine points off the bench for BYU.
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"This is a really good win for us," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "They're a very talented team and can really score. I thought defensively we did a nice job on them but I really like how we attacked offensively."
Oregon trailed by seven at halftime and cut the gap to 38-33 on a jam by Tony Woods. But the Cougars went on a 13-0 run to take command of the game at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. Brock Zylstra fueled the run with a three-point play and 3-point bucket.
But it was Austin and Rogers who came up big off the bench.
Austin has scored 20 points the last two games after netting just 10 the first six, and Rogers added a four-point play that revved up the team.
"We all played really hard together and that's a step forward for us," Rose said.
It comes at a critical time as the Cougars enter a key stretch.
On Wednesday, BYU faces Big Sky Conference favorite Weber State. Next weekend the Cougars take on No. 7-ranked Baylor. They open conference play Dec. 29 at Saint Mary's.
The Cougars know Weber State is out to prove it is the best team in the state, especially if the Wildcats can pull off their first-ever win in Provo. BYU is 18-0 at home against Weber State.
"They're a great team with great guards, shoot the ball well, with physical post guys," Hartsock said. "It's one of the best Weber State teams that I've ever played against. It's going to be a tough game, but we've got to play with a lot of emotion and lot of intensity."
After another slow start Saturday, the Cougars did just that against Oregon.
They turned an 8-0 deficit into a 32-18 lead, taking advantage of second and third chances and 15 Oregon turnovers.
"We got off to a decent start in the second half but they got three or four opportunities and really hurt us," Oregon coach Dana Altman said. "Second-chance points and turnovers are two areas we have struggled with all year and we did again today."
Garrett Sim led Oregon with 16 points, hitting 6 of 8 shots, while Woods added 13 points.
BYU led 38-31 at halftime.
BYU was facing a former recruit in sophomore guard Johnathan Loyd, the brother of former Cougar Michael Loyd Jr. In Oregon's most recent game, Loyd hit 8 of 11 shots, including 6 of 7 from 3-point range, to lead the Ducks to a 64-59 win over UTEP.
On Saturday, Loyd made just 1 of 6 shots and was 0 for 3 from beyond the arc.
As a team Oregon shot just 38.6 percent, and allowed 19 second-chance points.
BYU held a 45-43 rebounding advantage and Hartsock led BYU with four blocks.
"I had taller brothers growing up so mostly I work on timing," Hartsock said of the blocks. "I don't get a lot of those apex (blocks) where the ball's way up in the air. I try to get them when they're closer to the ground."
Hartsock gave the Cougars their first lead, 12-11, on a baseline jumper with 13:15 left in the first half. Rogers converted a four-point play to put BYU up 16-11, and back-to-back 3- pointers by Austin and Rogers bumped BYU's lead to 30-18 with 8 minutes left in the half.
"I think the best thing with Noah is that he's so consistent that his teammates are starting to look for him and he's becoming our go-to guy," Rose said.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
