Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO, Utah (AP) - Brandon Davies scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds Saturday night to lift Brigham Young over San Diego 88-52 in the Cougars' West Coast Conference home opener.
The Toreros (5-8, 0-1) scored first, but BYU (12-4, 1-1) went on a 13-0 run.
San Diego pulled within 20-15 on a pair of free throws by Ken Rancifer with 7 minutes left in the first half, but that's as close as the Toreros got.
BYU led by 10 at halftime and quickly bumped it to 16 on a jumper by Noah Hartsock and a four-point play by Brock Zylstra.
Davies, who had a career-high 28 points Wednesday in a loss at Saint Mary's, dominated inside. He made 8 of 13 shots and also had a pair of blocks.
#box
Rancifer led San Diego with 12 points.
The Toreros shot just 23 percent and were 5 of 27 from 3- point range.
The Cougars had won six conference titles as members of the Mountain West from 1999 to 2011, with a 126-54 record. But they jumped to the West Coast Conference this season only to lose their debut by 16 at Saint Mary's, trailing by as many as 22.
In that game, the Cougars allowed a season-high 98 points on 55 percent shooting and committed 15 turnovers, including three in the final minutes of the first half when the game slipped away.
On Saturday night, San Diego scored first on a jumper by Chris Manresa. But the Cougars scored the next 13, with Davies providing a few highlight-reel shots.
He spun baseline around Manresa and jammed from the other side of the rim, and he closed out the run with a reverse layup.
The Toreros missed about a dozen straight shots during BYU's early run and committed a pair of turnovers.
Then BYU went cold.
Darian Norris and Rancifer hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Toreros pulled within 20-13 with 7:35 left in the half. Two free throws by Rancifer cut the gap to five points.
San Diego thought it had forced a turnover on BYU's next possession. But officials instead called a blocking foul, and Zylstra sank two free throws to start a 6-0 BYU run.
Matt Carlino then scored BYU's final eight points of the first half, two off a steal and a pair of 3-pointers, as the Cougars took a 10-point lead into the locker room.
BYU dominated the boards in the first half, holding a 28- 18 edge in rebounding, with Davies grabbing 14 of them - one shy of his career high.
In the first half, San Diego shot just 22.2 percent (6 of 27) and made only 3 of 13 from beyond the arc.
The Cougars shot 38.7 percent but missed 11 of 14 in one stretch to allow the Toreros to keep within striking distance.
San Diego, picked to finish last in the conference with three freshmen in the lineup, started the season 4-1 but has lost four straight and seven of its last eight.
BYU, picked behind the Gaels and Gonzaga, knew it couldn't afford to start 0-2 in conference play.
And the Cougars knew they needed to shore up their perimeter defense.
In their last three losses, they allowed Wisconsin to shoot 13 of 24 from 3-point range, Baylor 13 of 25 and Saint Mary's 12 of 25.
But Saturday, they held the Toreros to 5 of 27 from beyond the arc.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
