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PROVO — You could tell TJ Haws wanted the ball in his hands.
After BYU led Santa Clara by double digits for much of the second half, the Broncos had just cut the deficit to four points with 2:15 to go.
A loss at that moment would’ve been heartbreaking for a Cougar squad that had just suffered through a stretch of four of five losses on the road, as they are getting ready for another road trip during a rare winter’s home game.
But BYU coach Dave Rose called the play, setting a two-guard screen as the clock approached the final minute.
One of those guards was Haws. He saw the shot. He took it.
Bang. Bang.
“I happened to be open,” said Haws, a 39 percent 3-point shooter. “I had a great look at it, I felt confident shooting it, and it felt good the whole way.”
Haws scored 16 points to go along with five rebounds and a season-high eight assists, including that cold-blooded dagger with 1:33 to go that helped BYU to an 80-74 win Saturday night over Santa Clara in the Marriott Center.
Yoeli Childs had 27 points and six rebounds for the Cougars, who strung together back-to-back wins for the first time since polishing off a three-game winning streak on Dec. 12 against Portland State in the team’s nonconference home finale.
TJ Haws drains another three for the Cougars in the last minutes of the game.#BYUHoops#BYUvsSCUpic.twitter.com/WkWjFUxLoD
— BYUtv Sports (@byutvsports) January 13, 2019
Luke Worthington supplied a season-high 13 points and four rebounds for BYU (11-8, 3-1 West Coast Conference).
Trey Wertz led Santa Clara (10-8, 2-2 WCC) with 20 points, and Wasatch Academy alum Josip Vrankic supplied 16 points and nine rebounds for the Broncos.
“They’re a really good team, bottom line. They’ve been playing well lately,” Worthington said. “They came in here with a lot of confidence. It was a battle until the very end. We were every bit as tough down the stretch and able to pull it out.”
BYU ended the first half on a 7-2 run, then added a 10-2 spurt early in the second to take control of a close game. But Santa Clara made a game of it late, pulling within 4 points in the final two minutes.
Haws' shot with 1:33 on the clock gave the Cougars a 77-71 lead, and BYU used a 6-0 run to pull away for good while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 24-of-34 from the free-throw line.
“I feel like I’ve been doing that since I was kid,” said Haws, the younger brother of BYU all-time leading scorer Tyler Haws. “Early mornings at the church, late nights at the church, shooting in high school gyms — I’ve been shooting those shots my whole life.”
Worthington capped the Cougars’ second 7-0 run of the half to go up 22-15 with 9:01 left — a lead that stretched to 10-0 on Haws’ first 3-pointer to lift BYU to a double-digit advantage, 25-15, on the next possession.
Then the lights went out for BYU.
The Cougars went cold for more than 2 minutes in the first half. The Broncos capitalized, pulling within two, 33-31, on Wertz’s 3-pointer with 1:46 before BYU ended the half on a 7-2 run, capped by Connor Harding’s three in the final seconds.
“Our guys battled back, and we got two big home wins, so we can now look forward to taking this thing back on the road to see how we can do,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “Pepperdine won today against San Diego, and San Francisco is one of the top teams in the league. I look forward to that.”
Hardnett's hand
Embattled guard Jahshire Hardnett was not available Saturday night for BYU. The point guard injured his hand in an 88-66 loss at Saint Mary’s a week ago, and has not played in a game since.
“He’s in the hands of the doctor now,” Rose said of Hardnett, who reportedly considered a transfer earlier in the week but returned to practice Wednesday and was made available Thursday before becoming a late scratch. “Once he gets cleared, we’ll get him out there and get rolling.”
On the road again
BYU heads to California for a two-game swing at Pepperdine and at San Francisco. Tipoff against the Waves is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. MST.
The Cougars will face San Francisco — the No. 2-rated team in the conference with a 14-2 overall record — at 8 p.m. MST Saturday, Jan. 19.
