Cougars rally past Gaels in second half

BYU vs. Saint Mary's Notes and Quotes

BYU vs. Saint Mary's Box Score

MORAGA, Calif. – The BYU men’s basketball team rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat Saint Mary’s 60-57 on the road on Saturday.

"I don't know if this was our best game, but I just loved the effort of our guys," BYU basketball coach Dave Rose said. "It reminded me of the game against San Francisco. Maybe we didn't shoot the best, but the effort was consistent. Guys were making plays on both ends of the floor and every guy that went into the game contributed to the win. It's a really good feel and I'm excited for the guys."

Tyler Haws led all players with 18 points, four assists and three steals, while Kyle Collinsworth finished with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists before fouling out. Anson Winder scored seven points to go along with three rebounds and two assists off the bench.

Nate Austin added five points and 11 rebounds with Matt Carlino contributing four points and four assists.

Collinsworth’s jumper started the game with the first BYU (18-10, 10-5 WCC) points that was followed by a 7-0 run by the Gaels (19-8, 9-5 WCC) until Haws’ jumper cut their lead to 7-4. From there Sainta Mary's outscored BYU 18-7 to take a game-high lead of 14 at 25-11.

After the Gaels' run, the Cougars went on a 10-2 run with Haws’ shot off the glass capping it to cut the deficit to 27-21. Haws’ feed to Eric Mika led to a two-hand dunk at the 4:25 mark to keep it a six-point game. Saint Mary's answered with an 8-2 run to regain a double-digit lead at 35-23. Collinsworth’s tip-in brought BYU within 10 with 1:08 remaining to send it into the break at 35-25.

Two minutes into the second half, Winder connected on BYU’s first 3-pointer of the game to cut SMC’s lead to 37-30. After the Gaels regained a double figure lead at 44-34, BYU scored on back-to-back baskets, a dunk by Mika and a jumper by Haws. SMC threatened to get a momentum-changing dunk but Mika recorded a block that led to a layup by Austin. Mika added a free throw at the 12:19 mark, capping a 7-0 BYU run to make it a one-possession game, 44-41. 

Both teams traded baskets until Haws turnaround jumper cut it down to two at 53-51 with 4:00 to go. On the ensuing possession, Haws got a steal and assisted a layup by Carlino in transition to tie the score at 53-53 with 3:46 remaining. After an SMC miss, Carlino missed a three from the top of the key but Austin was there to tip it in and give BYU a two-point lead. its first since the 2-0 start.

SMC came back and tied it at 55 on the next possession after multiple misses and offensive rebounds. Austin was fouled with 1:00 to go and hit 1 of 2 for a 56-55 lead. After a Gael turnover, a missed BYU free throw, the Cougars forced a jump ball to gain possession with eight seconds remaining. Carlino hit two free throws with six seconds to go and Skyler Halford drained two more with three seconds to go to seal the win.

The Cougars held the Gaels to 32.0 percent shooting in the second half and outscored them 35-22 after the break.

BYU returns to the Marriott Center to host Gonzaga on Thursday, Feb. 20, at 9 p.m. MST. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and broadcast on the Cougar IMG Sports Network on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM.