BYU vs. Gonzaga postgame notes and quotes

Player Notes

Josh Sharp finished the game with a career-high 14 points, 10 coming in the first half. Sharp shot 5 of 6 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free throw line.
Brandon Davies and Matt Carlino also finished in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Carlino has now scored in double digits in 7-straight games and Davies has now scored in double digits in 20 of 21 games this season.
Josh Sharp reached double-digit points on a layup with 1:19 left in the first half to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 36-19.
Brandon Davies reached double-digit points on a jumper at the 11:32 mark of the second half to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 57-42.
Matt Carlino reached double-digit points on a layup with 2:59 left in the second half to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 74-61.
Josh Sharp was the team’s leading scorer at halftime with 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the field.
Nate Austin made his third 3-pointer of the season at the 7:58 mark in the second half to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 64-51.
Tyler Haws scored his first point of the game off a free throw at the 7:34 mark in the second half to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 12 at 64-52.

Team Notes

Dave Rose started Brandon Davies, Tyler Haws, Josh Sharp, Brock Zylstra and Matt Carlino tonight for the ninth-straight game. The Cougars are now 10-4 with that starting lineup this season.
BYU trailed Gonzaga 40-21 at the half for its seventh halftime deficit this season.
The Cougars’ 21 points at halftime are a season low for points in a half this season.
BYU’s bench outscored Gonzaga’s bench 17-10 in the game.

Game Trends

Josh Sharp scored 5 of BYU’s first 8 points in the game.
Between 13:36 and 9:41 in the second half, BYU went on a 7-0 run to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 15 at 57-42.
BYU shot just 25.8 percent from the field in the first half but improved that to 46.4 percent in the second.

Josh Sharp
"There were a lot of things, especially in the first half, that we did wrong and they did right. We struggled early and couldn't come back."

"Our coaches told us they would come out firing but we didn't respond how we needed to. At halftime, the coaches told us if we did the things we needed to we could get back in it and we did chip away a little but it just wasn't enough."

"A lot of teams focus on different players, as they should, but tonight I was just able to get the points our team needed. We mixed up our defense a lot tonight to try and keep them from getting in any sort of grooze, and I thought our zone was effective. We were able to create some opportunities for ourselves."

BYU head coach Dave Rose
"Give a lot of credit to Gonzaga, they really shut down Ty (Haws). We knew this was going to be a tough test playing a Top 10 team on their home floor – they've got it all. We had some open shots that didn't go in and, overall, just couldn't keep up. None of that affected our effort though. I thought our guys played really hard and never gave up."

"I thought the first half was a real struggle for us and we were frustrated – the game was physical and we didn't execute our game plan. In the second half we improved quite a bit and that will help us with our confidence. We just need to come out stronger. We got rushed in the first half and didn't get the shots we wanted."

"We typically play through the same few guys and tonight that didn't happen. I think that put us a little out of our heads because we gain confidence through guys like Brandon and Tyler. Luckily Josh stepped up for us and he ended up having a great game."

"Nobody likes to be down at halftime. We challenged the guys to do the things we do to look more like ourselves and to play our game. To be a good team you have to be able to play through the whole experience of a road game – the crowd, the new atmosphere, everything."