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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Brandon Davies scored 21 points, Tyler Haws added 18 and BYU used two big second-half runs to defeat Montana 85-60 on Wednesday night.
The Grizzlies were within eight points, 53-45, with 12:08 left after a twisting, off-balance layup by Kareem Jamar.
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But the Cougars (5-2) went on a 14-5 run to seal their third straight victory this season and sixth straight at EnergySolutions Arena, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz.
Haws started the run with a pair of free throws, and Craig Cusick hit his second 3-pointer of the night to ruin any hopes the Grizzlies had of extending their three-game winning streak.
Jamar led Montana (3-2) with 17 points and nine rebounds and Keron DeShields added 12 points.
Forward Mathias Ward finished with seven points and one rebound after fouling out with 8:24 left as he tied to slow down Davies inside.
BYU held a 32-16 advantage on points in the paint and scored 26 points off 17 Montana turnovers.
Haws had a chance to tie a school record with his seventh straight 20-point game to start a season but missed his last few shots and took a seat for the final minutes.
Montana shot just 29 percent in the second half as BYU pulled away after leading 42-31 at halftime.
BYU opened the game on a 14-2 run as the Cougars made five of their first six shots, including 3-pointers from Brock Zylstra and Cusick.
Montana gave 7-foot freshman Andy Martin his first career start to counter BYU's size, but he turned it over the first time he touched the ball, setting the tone in the first half.
The Grizzlies turned it over 11 times in the first half as the Cougars did a good job of clogging passing lanes. BYU scored 20 points off the miscues in taking an 11-point lead into the break.
The Cougars might have led even more, but Davies missed his first five free throws of the night. BYU's big man still had 10 points at halftime, and five assists.
The Grizzlies, an NCAA tournament team and Big Sky champ last season, survived BYU's initial run.
Jamar and Jordan Gregory hit 3-pointers to pull Montana within 20-10 about 7 minutes in. But Matt Carlino answered with his own long-distance shot.
It was the first 3-pointer for Carlino in six games. He was just 1 of 17 before that, a statistic that led to senior Cusick replacing him at point guard in the starting lineup last week.
Gregory's second 3-pointer brought the Grizzlies within 23-17 with 10:30 left in the half.
That's as close as they would get before the break.
BYU countered with a 10-3 run, with Josh Sharp hitting a pair of layups, and Haws and Raul Delgado hitting 3-pointers as the Cougars surged ahead 33-19 with 7:20 left in the half.
Jamar and Ward kept Montana within striking distance, with Jamar converting back-to-back three-point plays and Ward finally finding some room inside.
The Grizzlies came into the game shooting 46.5 percent from 3-point range and 49.2 percent overall.
They were close to those numbers offensively in the first half. But it wasn't enough to keep up with the Cougars, who hit 6 of 10 from beyond the arc in the first half and 62.5 percent overall (15 of 24).
BYU also held a 42-31 first-half rebounding edge.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
