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PROVO — BYU defeated Portland 86-72 Saturday night, ending its two-game losing streak with solid play from its seventh different starting lineup of the season.
“Give our coaches credit. I think we managed the week well,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “I think our players have a lot of fight in them. That’s really positive for our staff. I’m really pleased with this week, with the results of this game, and I look forward to a competitive game Tuesday (against Utah State).”
On Saturday, Rose started Craig Cusick for the eighth time this season, a move that pushed forward Josh Sharp to the bench. Cusick finished with 10 points and seven assists in a team-high 36 minutes.
“We knew that this would be a really physical game,” Rose said. “Craig is one of those guys who consistently mixes it up the most of our guys, especially on the perimeter. We wanted to help secure our guard line.”
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In a demoralizing loss to San Francisco seven days earlier, BYU looked tired and the players seemed like they needed physical and mental rest. The week off allowed coaches to play their starters heavy minutes, and they responded with intensity on both ends of the floor.
The starting unit of Matt Carlino, Cusick, Tyler Haws, Brock Zylstra and Brandon Davies played a combined 157 minutes of a possible 200 minutes — accounting for 78.5 percent of the minutes available in the game.
The team played the type of offense that Rose has installed at BYU well, moving the ball crisply on offense and playing disciplined zone defense. BYU finished the first half with 14 assists on 17 made field goals, and finished the game with 26 assists on 34 field goals.
The 26 assists were BYU's second-highest total of the season. Coincidentally, BYU had 26 assists in its two games last week — both losses.
“That’s good for us (the assists). That is how we play,” Rose said. “We move the ball. We share the ball. And we get a lot of guys involved offensively scoring the ball.”
Those assists were due in part to a season-best shooting performance. The extra rest allowed BYU's shooters to regain their legs, and shots fell for the Cougars consistently throughout Saturday's game. BYU finished with 34 field goals on 57 attempts, good for a mark of 59.6 percent.
The extra rest also helped the team on the other end of the court.
The defensive effort that was missing against San Francisco in the second half last week re-emerged against Portland. The starters limited the Pilots to 25 points in the first half on 33.3 percent shooting. The team hustled for rebounds on defense, only allowing two offensive rebounds by the Pilots while grabbing 18 defensive rebounds. The Cougars also forced the Pilots into six turnovers, aggressively trapping when the ball went to the baseline while reading the offense and getting in passing lanes for steals.
BYU will have to hope that its week of rest pays dividends in the upcoming week as well. BYU plays Utah State on Tuesday in a game that was re-scheduled after USU's Danny Berger collapsed during a practice in December. BYU then will travel to the Bay Area to play Saint Mary’s in a huge conference game.
“Recovery is big. Each individual will have to take care of their body,” Haws said. “We’re excited to play. A week off does a lot for your legs and we’ll be ready to play Tuesday.”
Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s both were victorious Saturday, maintaining their lead over BYU in the WCC standings. Santa Clara travels to play Gonzaga on Wednesday, and the Cougars will have to hope for some assistance from Santa Clara's Kevin Foster as they try to hold on to their postseason chances.
The game Tuesday against Utah State is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. MST in Provo, with KSL radio coverage beginning one hour before tipoff.
Dan Lewis covers BYU sports for KSL.com. He is currently attending Brigham Young University, studying communications with an emphasis in multimedia journalism.
