Carlino powers second half surge against Santa Clara

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BYU vs. Santa Clara box score
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PROVO, Utah – Matt Carlino scored a season-high 28 points and three more Cougars scored in double figures as BYU men’s basketball took down Santa Clara 96-79 on Saturday night at the Marriott Center.

In a game that was just a one-point contest at halftime, BYU (18-6, 8-2) outscored the Broncos (17-7, 5-4) 49-33 after the break to fuel its victory. 

Carlino shot 10 of 17 from the field and 3 of 6 from behind the arc. The sophomore also dished out six assists and had three rebounds, two steals and one block.

Tyler Haws scored 24 points with five dimes and Brandon Davies recorded his third double-double in a row with 16 points and 11 boards. Sophomore Josh Sharp tied a career high with 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting. Brock Zylstra just missed out on a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds.

BYU shot a season-best 58.3 percent from the field en route to its highest point total in a West Coast Conference game since joining the league last season.

Santa Clara was held to 38.1 percent shooting for the game. The Broncos made 7 of 12 treys in the first half but the Cougar defense limited them to just 2 of 12 in the second.

Both teams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of the game until BYU went on a 9-0 run and Santa Clara went nearly four minutes without a basket. The Cougars led 22-16 with just over nine minutes left until halftime.

The Broncos weren’t going away anytime soon, however.

Three foul shots for Santa Clara tied the game at 26-26. Carlino drilled a long 3-pointer for BYU and the Broncos answered right back with one of their own.

Carlino wasn’t done though as he drained one more trey to give the Cougars a 32-29 lead with 6:22 to go in the first half.

Both teams battled back and forth into the locker room going score-for-score until the final minute when two free throws from Davies gave BYU the one-point, 47-46, lead heading into the break.

In the second half, BYU put together a 14-1 run early on for almost five minutes to take over the game.

At the 14:59 mark Davies stuffed a dunk attempt and Haws converted on a step-back jumper. Davies picked up an offensive board on the Cougars’ next possession, dished it to Carlino who knocked down his third triple of the game and gave BYU a 63-53 lead.

Zylstra hit another trey for the Cougars to add to the lead just minutes later, stretching it to 68-54.

Santa Clara hit back-to-back buckets to answer and try to spark a comeback but Davies and Haws made sure the Broncos wouldn’t get back in it.

Davies hit a jumper, grabbed a board on the defensive end and dished it to a streaking Haws for a fast-break dunk. Haws hit a midrange shot and Davies threw down another dunk for an 8-0 run with 8:02 to play, giving BYU a 76-59 lead that Santa Clara never recovered from.

The Cougars built up a 23-point lead at one point and cruised the rest of the way to a 96-79 victory.

Up next, BYU travels south to take on San Diego at 7 p.m. PST. The game will be televised live on BYUtv and broadcast on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM.