Cougars look to extend streak as they enter final week of regular season


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The BYU men’s basketball team looks to finish the season strong as it enters its final week of the regular season. The Cougars (21-8, 11-5 WCC) are currently in third place in the WCC standings and head out on the road to face Portland and Gonzaga this weekend, preparing themselves for the WCC tournament, which will take place in Las Vegas beginning the following weekend.

On Thursday, Feb. 19, BYU had its Senior Night in which the team beat San Diego 75-62. Head Coach Dave Rose was pleased overall with what he saw. He talked about the team’s play in his weekly radio show Tuesday night.

“We got better as the game went on, we continued to play well, we rebounded the ball really well,” Rose said. “We did a good job of holding San Diego off, a team who is a really gritty, feisty, efficient team. It was a good win for us as we could be playing those guys in a week.”

One player who shined in his final game at the Marriott Center was senior guard Tyler Haws. Haws scored 28 points, including a couple of 3-pointers in the second half as BYU pulled away from San Diego. He now has 2,593 points in his career, and needs just seven to break the all-time career scoring record at BYU.

Haws should break the record in Portland on Thursday, and was asked about that prospect when he talked to the media Tuesday.

“It’ll be nice when it’s behind me,” Haws said. “I try to just focus on what we’re doing as a team, we have some really important weeks ahead of us, so I’m just caught up in the team stuff right now. … It’s kinda hard to appreciate the other stuff that’s going on.”

Jimmer Fredette, the current all-time leading scorer for BYU, and a guard playing for the New Orleans Pelicans, joined the radio show from New Orleans on the phone. He talked about his relationship with Haws and his scoring record being in jeopardy this week.

“He (Haws) is such a great kid, he’s a better person off the court than on the court; which is really saying something, ’cause he can play,” Fredette said. “I’m happy for the kid, he’s worked really really hard, I’ve seen it firsthand. If someone’s gonna break it, I definitely want it to be Tyler.”

Rose talked about what it has been like coaching Fredette and Haws, and his overall experience with the two players.

“These guys are amazing. There are a lot of similarities in their game, and some real differences,” Rose said. “The one thing they’re both really really good at is getting to the free-throw line … and when they get there, they’re really good at making their free throws.”

He added, “I’m a lucky guy, I’ve had some great offensive players to play here … Jimmer and Ty are two of the best to ever put on a Cougar uniform.”

Sophomore Luke Worthington had some news of his own this week. Worthington announced over Twitter on Monday that he has decided to serve an LDS mission. Worthington talked with the media Tuesday about his decision and how it came about.

“It was a decision that I thought a lot about. Coming from where I was from … it was not a social norm at all … it was just kinda a foreign thing to me,” Worthington said. “My dad hit me with the question a couple months ago, and it got me thinking … I wanna serve the Lord and give of myself. It’s a really unique opportunity that only comes for a certain period.”

With the close of the regular season around the corner, the Cougars understand the importance of these final games. Frank Bartley, who was the player guest this week on the radio show, discussed just that, and what the NCAA tournament would mean for this team.

“It’s do or die right now for us … our tournament started already … we just focus on winning the next game,” Bartley said. “We worked so hard this season. We have four seniors, that would be the perfect goodbye for them … getting to the (NCAA) tournament is the ultimate goal.”

The Cougars find themselves on a four-game winning streak heading into this weekend, thanks in part to better play defensively and on the boards. Haws spoke about their mindset and the effect that rebounds have had lately in the Cougars’ play.

“When we rebound, we get out in transition … everything kinda opens up on the offensive end, and we play better defense,” Haws said. “We haven’t lost a game when we have outrebounded our opponent, so I think that’s the X-factor for this team.

“We’re playing the right way, but we can’t get complacent, or happy with where we’re at … we gotta just keep fighting and keep going.”

It will be a tough test Thursday night against the Portland Pilots, who have two of the top rebounders in the conference and average more than 36 rebounds a game. Last season in Portland, the Pilots were victorious in a game that went into triple overtime.

This season, the Cougars won in Provo in another high scoring affair, 97-88. Rose talked about his keys to the game Thursday and what they will have to do to be successful in their final road trip of the season.

“For us, defensive rebounds is a huge key. … We’re going to have to beat them at what they’re really good at in order for us to be good here,” Rose said. “We’re going to have to shoot the ball well and obviously rebound the ball well in order to get opportunities.”

The game Thursday tips off at 8 p.m. MST. Following the game Thursday, the Cougars will play at Gonzaga on Saturday with the tipoff at 8 p.m. MST as well. Both games can be heard on KSL Newsradio.

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Jaren Wood

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