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PROVO -- UNLV guard Tre'Von Willis had no idea what he was throwing away when he turned the ball over on an errant pass with 3:37 remaining in the game against BYU Wednesday night.
The No. 23 Cougars (15-1) trailed by three at that point in the game, but after Willis' turnover Mike Loyd took over to lead his team to a 77-73 victory over the Rebels (12-3).
On the following possession, Loyd took his man off the dribble, driving to the basket for a quick layup. The Cougars got a stop on the next possession, and Loyd brought the ball down the court to find teammate Jonathan Tavernari for an open three, and just like that BYU took a one point lead and never gave it back.
After another Rebel miss, Loyd beat his man for a tough layup in the lane with 1:30 remaining, giving the Cougars complete control of the game.
In the timeout before this sequence, BYU Head Coach Dave Rose said he didn't need to say much because the players were challenging each other.
"When you get to that point you just have to go out there and compete," Rose said after the game. "The guys just made plays and figured out a way to win."
Related:
Tavernari leads No. 25 BYU over UNLV
Jonathan Tavernari scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and No. 25 BYU pulled away with a late rally and held off UNLV 77-73 on Wednesday night in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.The Cougars had to do it without their leading scorer, Jimmer Fredette, who continues to struggle with strep throat, which kept him out of the game against Eastern New Mexico.
Fredette was clearly not himself in the 25 minutes he played, finishing with seven points (2-of-10 shooting), one assist and three turnovers.
Without Fredette's usual scoring, other players had to step up to fill the void. Noah Hartsock was the man for the job in the first half with 13 points before finishing the game with 17 on 6-of-13 shooting. He also finished with six rebounds, an assist, a block, a steal and a bloody nose on an errant Rebel elbow. The Oklahoma native said it was all about effort.
"(This win) shows that we're going to come out and play hard every night," Hartsock said. "We're all going to chip in and do our best."
Senior swingman Jonathan Tavernari finished the first half with only three points, but took over in the second half to total 17 on 4-of-9 shooting, and making five of his six free throw attempts to keep the Cougars in the game as the Rebels tried to pull away.
True freshman Tyler Haws was the other BYU player to score in double digits in the game, finishing with 12 points and four offensive rebounds (six total), three assists and no turnovers. Despite his youth, Haws has proven to be a model of consistency for the Cougars.
Loyd finished with seven points and two assists. Jackson Emery had nine points and two steals.
The Rebels were led by Willis, the only UNLV player to score in double figures with 24 points, but his seven turnovers proved to be a costly difference in the game.
The Cougars take a break from conference play to travel to Texas to battle UTEP Saturday, before taking on Air Force next Wednesday.
