BYU handles Huskies, lives to play another day

PROVO — BYU head coach Dave Rose is included in a new ESPN "30 for 30" documentary about Jim Valvano and his 1983 national championship as the coach of N.C. State—a team that beat Rose's Houston Cougars in the title game. The name of the documentary is "Survive and Advance," which has dual meaning, relative to Valvano's life-claiming battle with cancer. As it turned out, the show's TV debut was actually concurrent with Sunday night's NIT selection show, which revealed that Rose's BYU Cougars would be playing in that tournament.

Two nights later, a new postseason theme emerged--one that could be entitled "Unite and Play Right."

Against a long and physical team from the University of Washington, the BYU Cougars bounced back from a hard-working but mediocre first half to catch fire after the intermission, scoring 57 second-half points, on the way to a 90-79 win that moves BYU into the NIT's second round, hosting an opponent to be determined.

"What I'm really proud of is how these guys have played since we got back from (the WCC tournament in Las) Vegas," Rose told us on KSL Radio's postgame show. "These guys have responded late in a season, when a lot of teams could kind of fracture...and go apart."

"This is the fourth year in a row where our program has won a postseason game," said Rose. "It says a lot about these guys, and the character of these kids, that they stay together. Things get tough, the season is long, and there's a lot of disappointment that goes through everybody and everything, and the guys stay together, and bring it so that they can win a game, late in the year."

"Postseason wins are really hard to come by, and I'm just really proud of them-—I'm proud of these guys."

Trailing 35-33 at halftime against Washington, and being carried by Tyler Haws' 17 points, BYU rediscovered itself in the game's final 20 minutes; in short, the Cougars looked like themselves again-—pushing the tempo, making their shots (58% FG in the second half), while sharing and taking care of the ball (16 assists, three turnovers).

Haws continued to play well, scoring 20 in the second half, while Brandon Davies and Matt Carlino signaled BYU's resurgence with 15 and 18 points after halftime, respectively. Carlino, in particular, sparked the Cougars, following a two-point, zero-assist, four-turnover first half with a second stanza that in addition to his scoring, featured nine helpers and only a single miscue, with two steals. The "Big Three" have never been bigger, with all of them topping 20 points in the same game for the first time this season.

"It feels good to be back, playing how we play," Davies said in his courtside interview on KSL. "We're all having fun out there, all helping each other. That's how we're supposed to play, and need to play."

With a game-high 37 points, Haws topped the 20-point plateau for the 22nd time this season, extending a BYU sophomore record; only four Cougars have ever topped 20 points more times in a single season.

Haws' point tally against Washington represents his second-highest single-game total, and the most points he has scored in the Marriott Center. With 706 points this season, he becomes only the fifth member of BYU's ‘700 Club,' and has already accounted for the sixth-highest single-season scoring haul in BYU hoops history.

With 1,103 career points in 68 games, Haws is also approaching Danny Ainge's BYU record for most points scored through a sophomore season (1,130 in 57 games).

Davies had a so-so first half against Washington and encountered familiar foul trouble, but ended the night with numbers that augment his late-season flourish; the senior center has scored 20 points or more seven times in the last 12 games, and has averaged 9.2 rebounds per game over the last five.

When Carlino is playing well, BYU is tough to beat. The Cougars are 8-0 when he scores 20 points or more, and BYU is 12-0 when Carlino records seven or more assists. The Washington game is analogous to his season, with equal parts inconsistency and brilliance. Only a sophomore, Carlino showed again last night the promise evident in his game; this will be an important upcoming offseason for him, as Rose looks to solidify and diversify his backcourt moving forward.

Even though the Cougars' top trio accounted for 79 of BYU's 90 points against Washington, contributions to the victory came from additional sources, all of whom helped BYU establish and maintain a style of play that led directly to the win.

Against the Huskies, clearing the defensive glass was essential, as UW came in as one of the best offensive-rebounding teams in the country. BYU got at least three defensive rebounds from six different players last night, with guards accounting for 18 defensive boards.

As important as the emphasis on defensive rebounding was producing in transition, and the Cougars ended the game with not only a plus-seven edge on the glass, but also a 10-point advantage in fast-break points. Only five BYU games this season featured more than last night's 76 possessions.

Playing shorthanded (Josh Sharp and Raul Delgado sat out due to injury), BYU's rotation was tightened, but when going to the bench, Rose got key minutes from Cory Calvert. The freshman played 15 minutes and scored five points, with three assists and a steal-—encouraging signs as he prepares to embark on a two-year missionary term.

Although he scored only two points (on an emphatic dunk), Nate Austin put his second consecutive start to good use, pulling down five rebounds, blocking three shots, recording two steals, while playing a career-high 33 minutes. The Huskies' size up front demanded that Austin hold his own at the "4"; he did that and more.

Next up for BYU is a Monday night home meeting with Mercer, which upset region 2 seed Tennessee in Knoxville on Wednesday night. A win in round two would put BYU two-thirds of the way to Madison Square Garden.

"Our goal is to get back to the Garden," Tyler Haws said during KSL's postgame coverage last night. "I'm feeling good with where our team is at."

"We would want to be in the NCAA tournament-—that's every team's goal at the beginning of the year," said Haws, "but we'll take this, and this is a great tournament with lots of great teams. We're going to have to play well this next game to win, and continue to advance."

"We know we're going to play again," said Rose after the game. "The guys are really excited in the locker room, and they should be. It's not only a great win for our team moving on and advancing in the tournament, but it's over a really quality opponent. It's a big win, and our guys should feel good about it."

BYU can also feel good about drawing the largest crowd for the opening night of NIT games. The 7,511 fans in attendance were all located in the Marriott Center's lower bowl, creating an energized atmosphere that wouldn't be evident were the same number of people spread around the arena.

Starting sales from scratch with no season-ticket holdovers, the school did a commendable job in selling that many tickets and creating an ambiance that translated well on radio, TV and most importantly, had in impact on the coaches and players.

"There's no question," said Rose, affirming that his team drew inspiration from Tuesday night's crowd. "The energy in the building was great, and our guys were excited to play. There was no letdown...and hopefully we can keep this momentum, and play a good game again, whenever that is."

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