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LAS VEGAS — BYU and San Francisco were evenly matched through most of Saturday night in the West Coast Conference semifinals until one of the Cougars’ pitfalls this season propelled them onto the championship.
Entering the contest, BYU was 220th in NCAA free-throw percentage at 68.4 percent. Not only was it a cause for concern since most close games are eventually decided at the stripe, but fans vehemently protested all year long that the Cougars weren’t focused enough on the potentially backbreaking issue.
On a night WCC Player of the Year Tyler Haws couldn’t get in a rhythm, going just 5-of-19 from the field, he and his teammates stepped up in the clutch and took advantage of the only points freely provided on the hardwood.
Following Kyle Collinsworth’s tip-in to begin overtime, which ended a scoring drought spanning nearly 7 minutes, Haws sank four free throws on subsequent trips to give BYU a six-point lead.
The Dons responded right back, though, as they had all game, withstanding every Cougar spurt to maintain striking distance as a 3-pointer made the score 74-73 BYU.
Then with 24.8 seconds left, Collinsworth, a 57.1 percent shooter from the line, was fouled to set up his first free throws of the night. The pessimistic and optimistic Cougar supporters together held their breath, but Collinsworth never doubted himself for a moment.
“I knew I was going to make them,” he said afterward.
Calmly, the sophomore took one glance at the rim and swished the first. A collective sigh of relief from the BYU fans that made up much more than half of the 7,898 in attendance preceded the second, as Collinsworth’s attempt clanked the inside of the rim, caromed off the backboard and fell through the net.
Although the speedy Avry Holmes cut the lead to one again for USF, and Anson Winder only hit one of two free throws on the Cougars’ next possession, BYU was able to get back in transition and force Holmes to fire up an off-balance jumper as time expired.
BYU was just 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from the field after halftime, but its season best 24-for-28 (85.7 percent) performance at the stripe provides an opportunity to punch a guaranteed NCAA tournament ticket against Gonzaga Tuesday night.
Haws’ 14 makes from the line led the way and didn’t come as a surprise. The crafty scorer knows what it takes to produce on off nights.
“If we could’ve kept him off the line, it would’ve been a fantastic performance,” USF head coach Rex Walters said of his team’s defense on Haws.
Walters used the lanky Mark Tollefsen, who is 3 inches taller than Haws, to chase him all over the court, determined not to give him any space and creating an obstacle for him to shoot over.
Dave Rose applauded his team for winning the game as a unit, despite the fact only five BYU players scored.
Different players did step up at various junctions: Eric Mika established himself in the paint early by scoring eight of his 11 points over the first 6-plus minutes in his first start since Feb. 15; Winder helped lock down Holmes and held him to just 4-of-16; Matt Carlino had the only bench points, and his jumper allowed Collinsworth the late chance at the line; Nate Austin and Josh Sharp had the Cougars’ only blocks, even though they were severely limited by foul trouble.
Gonzaga now awaits BYU in the third installment of what is becoming a competitive rivalry. The Cougars were less than 48 hours removed from a triple-OT loss at Portland when they fell to the Zags 84-69 in Spokane, Wash.
BYU took the second meeting, 73-65, by holding Gonzaga to 4-of-18 from behind the arc and drawing fouls on its best big men — Sam Dower and Przemek Karnowski — who only played 20 and 19 minutes, respectively, in Provo. The Cougars took advantage to outrebound the Zags 41-32.
Gary Bell Jr. and Kevin Pangos missed numerous open looks last time around — somewhat of an anomaly as both shoot over 40 percent from distance — and BYU will need to execute its perimeter defense better than it did in the semifinal. USF was 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) from 3-point range.
That means not getting stuck underneath screens, hedging when necessary and perhaps most importantly, keeping penetration in front to avoid the pass-and-kick that Mark Few’s team does so well.
Rose will likely keep rolling with Mika after his high-energy showing Monday, and Austin has to at least be able to stay on the floor as long as either Karnowski or Dower. The Cougars were disciplined in their rotations against the Dons’ Cole Dickerson and Kruize Pinkins, but Dickerson was able to find success as he drew his man out of the paint. Dower has a similar skill set and his is arguably even more polished than Dickerson’s at this point.
The matchups down low will go a long way in deciding the outcome. However, both teams have guards capable of taking over, and it should end up being a closely matched tournament final.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT.
