BYU vs. Gonzaga Notes & Quotes

Player Notes

Haws followed up his 48-point performance against Portland with 23 points on Saturday against Gonzaga. Haws passed Michael Smith for ninth all-time in free throws made at BYU. He also scored 20 points or more in a game for the 42nd time in his career, which is good for fifth in BYU history. Haws scored in double figures for the 35th straight game. It is the eighth longest streak ever at BYU.

Eric Mika

Mika finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, an assist and a steal. He passed Nate Austin, Kyle Collinsworth and Mekeli Wesley for third by himself in offensive rebounds by a freshman with 57. He now trails only Shawn Bradley and Trent Plaisted.

Mika also scored in double figures for the 18th time this season and is tied with Fred Roberts for the eighth most double-figure games by a freshman.

Kyle Collinsworth

Collinsworth totaled 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. It was the 20th time this season Collinsworth has scored in double figures and 13th in a row.

Nate Austin

Austin finished with six points, four rebounds and a block.

Anson Winder

Winder scored seven points and was 4 of 5 from the free-throw line.

Josh Sharp

Sharp finished with two points and four rebounds.

Frank Bartley IV

Bartley scored for the first time in six games. He finished with two points and grabbed a rebound in his five minutes on the floor.

Team Notes

BYU started Collinsworth, Halford, Haws, Austin and Mika for the fourth straight game and fifth time this season. The Cougars are now 3-2 with those starters.

The Cougars had three players score in double figures for the first time since the loss against Utah. Haws, Collinsworth and Mika each finished in double digits.

BYU managed to outrebound the Bulldogs 33-26, thanks to a 10-rebound advantage on the offensive boards.

Runs

BYU used its best streaks in the first half to keep the Bulldogs close. A 7-0 run made it 19-18 with 7:31 left in the first half. Mika scored four during the stretch, Sharp two and Haws one. Between 6:18 and 4:04 in the first half, BYU went on a 9-3 run to tie the game at 27. Haws scored four in those two minutes, while Collinsworth added three and Bartley two. The Cougars only trailed by two at the half, but weren't able to tie or take a lead again.

Quotes from the Cougar IMG Network Postgame Show

BYU head coach Dave Rose

Better than other trips:

"We've brought some teams in here with some pretty good records and didn't have the chance that we had tonight. We had a chance in the first half where we were within striking distance to come out in the second half."

"They were just better than us in the second half. They were quicker than us. They scored on the first four or five possessions. We got the game back to where it was kind of manageable and then Pangos gets free."

"There's a huge difference tonight between the 3-point shots we gave up compared to 3-point shots the other night. We were right in that kid's face the other night and Pangos didn't have a guy within 10 feet of him. After that second three in the second half, the goal was to not let him get off another one and he makes three more."

"It's a tough road swing here and hopefully our guys will have a lot of fight in them when we get back."

3-point shooting on the road:

"We were just in the locker room with the coaching staff trying to examine it. Even in our win against Santa Clara, they busted a bunch of threes on us. We have a plan going in on how we're going to deal with those things and it's just not getting done. Ever since LMU, it has been a pretty high priority and we're getting really, really good games from these guys. Every team that's playing us is playing one of their best games and we've got to figure out a way to respond to it."

Mika:

"You saw a lot of explosiveness that we haven't seen for the last couple weeks. That's a really good sign for us. He actually exploded to go after balls, on a missed shot to get it back, going for rebounds out of his area. That's a really good sign for us moving forward, if we can get Eric back to where he was in the first part of December, when I thought he was playing his best basketball to date."

Kyle Collinsworth

Effort:

"That kept us in the game, especially in the fist half. We weren't hitting a lot of shots, but we continued to crash the boards and it gave us a lot of extra points."

Defending Pangos/Sharp:

"The plan was not what happened – that's for sure. That's a problem we've had all year. We let certain players go off for big games and that's something we've got to figure out as a group. We've got to shut that down as soon as we can and not let players like that go off for big games."

Rebounding:

"A big focus for us was crashing the offensive boards, giving ourselves some second chances. There wasn't a lot of rebounds in this game it seemed like to me. We definitely won that battle and that's a positive that we need to carry with us to the next game."