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The BYU men's basketball team beat the Portland Pilots on Saturday night, 85-67, getting strong performances from its "Big 3" of Brandon Davies, Tyler Haws and Matt Carlino to secure win No. 16 on the season.
The Cougars were led in scoring by Carlino, who finished with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Carlino had led the team in scoring twice before Saturday — with 22 points against San Francisco and 19 points against Utah — and he did it again against the Pilots.
All told, the "Big 3" of Haws, Davies and Carlino combined for 63 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists to almost single-handedly defeat the Pilots.
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BYU came into the game against Portland knowing it was going to face a team that hangs its hat on defense and tries to make the most of possessions. But the Cougars were able to push the pace in the second half and increase the speed to a level they were comfortable playing at.
“We definitely picked it up in the second half. They were killing us on the boards, and that’s one thing we try to emphasize coming out of the second half,” Davies said.
The game was reflective of a trend the Cougars have followed nearly the entire season when they've been successful: force turnovers, rebound the ball and score 80 points. The Cougars are 12-0 this season when reaching the 80-point plateau, and 14-1 when they limit their opponent to an assist-to-turnover ratio of one or lower.
“They (Portland) average 15 turnovers a game, and one of our game plans was to pressure the ball and force turnovers, which we did well,” Carlino said.
No one on the team has quite as much impact on the pace of the game as Carlino. When the sophomore is able to play under control, yet accelerate the pace and push the ball in transition, the offense is able to find more open shots and convert scoring opportunities into points.
“My whole life I’ve felt comfortable playing fast,” Carlino said.
Playing fast was the story of the evening for Carlino. Possession after possession, he would receive the outlet pass, turn and jet past halfcourt to the perimeter. His ensuing dribble-drives created open looks for his teammates, which turned into six assists for Carlino.
"I think Matt (Carlino) really controlled the game from start to finish," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "There were a lot of times when they tried to press us, and he would drive through the press and get us an easy basket on the other end."
Carlino is on a streak of eight straight games with double-digit scoring. Carlino has averaged 16.4 points on 46.2 percent shooting, while also averaging 5.3 assists against 2.1 turnovers. Carlino finished his first season with BYU with a 33.1 percentage on 3-point shots, but is shooting 39.0 percent over the previous eight games.
In a league with excellent point guards, Carlino has a variety of players to observe and learn from. In his career, Carlino has been asked to defend guards with a scoring mentality, such as Pierre Jackson at Baylor, and quiet shooters such as Kevin Pangos at Gonzaga.
BYU continues its road swing with a trip to Malibu, Calif., for a rematch against the Pepperdine Waves on Thursday. BYU defeated Pepperdine on Jan. 10 in the Marriott Center by a score of 76-51. Pepperdine has lost three of its last four since facing the Cougars. The game will tipoff at 8 pm MST.
Dan Lewis covers the BYU men's basketball team for KSL.com. He is currently a student at Brigham Young University, studying communications.
