Haws, Mika lead BYU to win over Wildcats in midweek in-state battle


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PROVO — In its third in-state game of the season, the BYU men’s basketball team showed that it is at its best when it can flip the ball inside and out at a moment’s notice.

It just has to find both inside and outside players to do it.

TJ Haws scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, and Eric Mika had 26 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a block to help the Cougars to a 77-66 win over Weber State on Wednesday night in the Marriott Center.

“I think we did a good job of getting the ball in the first half; I just had a hard time playing aggressively,” said Mika, who scored 21 after halftime. “We were converting on my kick outs and playing well. I just need to step it up when it comes to aggressiveness.”

“My guys had faith in me, kept giving me the ball, and I was able to play more aggressively in the second half.”

Haws also had five assists, including a lob to former Lone Peak teammate Mika on a fast break to put the Cougars up 57-51 with 9:08 left in the second half.

“That was sweet. I live for that,” Mika said. “TJ is a great passer. He had his hand on the ball for about a quarter-second, and he put it in the right spot for me to go get it.”

Kyle Davis supplied 13 points and three rebounds off the bench for BYU (6-3), and starter Yoeli Childs had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Zach Braxton had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Weber State (2-6) before fouling out with more than six minutes remaining. Ryan Richardson scored 13, including three 3-pointers, and Jeremy Senglin added 12 points for the Wildcats.

“I like the way our guys competed tonight on the defensive end,” said BYU coach Dave Rose, whose team out-rebounded the Wildcats 41-36, including 31-26 on the defensive end. “Offensively, we’ve got a lot of work to do. But on the defensive end, I liked it.”

After BYU jumped out to a 7-0 lead, the Wildcats rallied to tie the game with a 7-0 run on Braxton’s jumper early. The Wildcats tied it at 20-20 again, but only led for 17 seconds of game time.

The Cougars put together two separate 7-0 runs of their own, paced by Haws, who capped a 13-2 run with 2:51 left to go up 35-24 to lead almost from Mika’s dunk that opened the game.

“They were double-teaming Eric, and TJ and Nick hit threes off of Eric’s kick outs,” Davis said. “We tried to be a little more focused and efficient.”

Braxton brought the Wildcats (2-6) within three, 41-38, on a jumper with 16:09 left to cap a 10-0 run. Richardson then pulled Weber State within one, 45-44, with 12:54 remaining — and tied the game at 47 just under 30 seconds later on another triple.

But the Wildcats couldn’t take advantage from the foul line, and BYU used a 16-6 run over the next five minutes to pull away for good.

“Our guys really had to dig in,” Rose said. “We didn’t have a good flow offensively, but defensively we did a good job of contesting possession by possession.

“This Weber State team had us scouted really well.”

Weber State forward Zach Braxton (44) works against BYU forward Eric Mika (12) under the basket as BYU and Weber State play at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
Weber State forward Zach Braxton (44) works against BYU forward Eric Mika (12) under the basket as BYU and Weber State play at the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

Here are three quick thoughts on the game.

Even with an inside-out game, BYU’s deep threat is struggling

Haws’ 2-for-5 effort from deep was the only Cougar 3-point line with multiple treys. The Cougars made just 3 of 11 shots from beyond the arc, which is not commonplace for Dave Rose’s teams of recent years.

For this season, BYU probably won’t need to shoot a lot of threes. The Cougars attempted just four 3-pointers in the second half, but they went 0-for-4 in 20 minutes.

“We play inside-out, have really fast-paced teams, and it’s our perimeter guys who need more confidence,” Rose said. “We need more confidence in our ability to race the ball up and get it back in.”

Weber State bailed out BYU from the line

The Wildcats charged, and kept hitting shots from the field. Richardson drained 3 of 6 3-point attempts and Braxton was 7 of 11 from the field inside.

But Weber State couldn’t take advantage of its second-half offensive burst because of its inability to finish from the free-throw line. The Wildcats made 5 of 15 foul shots after making 17 of 20 in Saturday’s 57-55 home loss to Denver.

After calling just 16 fouls in the first half, the officials finished with a 44-foul count (or 23-21 against the Wildcats).

“When I’m making my free throws, I like it,” said Mika, who converted 10 of 15 from the line. “Tonight, I think I was a little bit tired.

“But that’s really my favorite way to play, and that’s the way the team likes to play. We want to get in the middle, play inside-out, draw fouls or get easy buckets.”

Jazz guard watches from courtside

Jazz guard George Hill was pronounced out of Utah’s Thursday tipoff against Golden State with a toe injury, so he took in the college game from courtside seats at the Marriott Center.

It’s true: an NBA pro in Utah decided to watch college basketball in Utah while he is in recovery. Even moreso, he was attending with current Jazz teammate Joel Bolomboy, who played at Weber State. Weird, right?

Joking aside, Hill was one of a relative few watching from the Marriott Center on Wednesday night. The Cougars’ announced crowd of 12,859 was late-arriving for an in-state matchup that showcased the early energy typical of two teams that have faced each other 42 times in program history.

“I think it was a really hard-fought game and really competitive on both ends,” Rose said. “Defensively, it was pretty physical, and both teams had each other scouted well.”

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