BYU vs San Diego: Game Notes & Quotes

Player Notes

• Noah Hartsock scored BYU’s first eight points through the first four minutes of play while also grabbing two rebounds and a steal.
• Hartsock hit double-figure points at 14:52 against the Toreros and has now recorded double digits in every game this season.
• Brandon Davies and Hartsock combined for BYU’s first 13 points of the game before freshman Nate Austin’s two points at 11:09.
• Davies grabbed his 10th rebound at 5:50 for his third game this season to record double-digit rebounds. He finished with 22. This is his second game, in three, to record double-figure rebounds.
• The 22 rebounds against San Diego from Davies tie for 10th all-time at BYU for total rebounds in a single game and are the most since Jan. 21, 1982 when Steve Trumbo grabbed 23. They are also a career high for the junior.
• Davies’ 2nd double-double performance in the last three games came at the 10:54 mark for his 10th point. He finished with 21 points. His rebound-point combo is the first +20-20 performance since the 1974-75 season.
• While outscoring every other person on the floor, Davies also contributed 4 assists to tie his season high.
• Matt Carlino tied his season/career high with 3 steals. Carlino has two 3-pointers against the Toreros and has now had at least 2 threes in every games he’s played in this season.
• Nate Austin hit his first 3-pointer at 14:31 of the second half against the Toreros for his first three since going four-straight games with one between 11/30 and 12/10.
• Hartsock switched his jersey with 7:25 left in the game to #41 because of a bloody nose.
• Nick Martineau hit his second 3-pointer of the season with 2:32 to play in the game.

Team Notes

• BYU head coach Dave Rose started Brandon Davies, Charles Abouo, Brock Zylstra, Matt Carlino and Noah Hartsock for the fifth-straight game. BYU is 4-1 with this starting line up this season.
• Davies, Abouo, Zylstra and Hartsock have started all 16 games for the Cougars this season.
• Today’s game is the fourth of 10-straight against a California team.
• The last time BYU played a game on New Years Eve was in 2004 against Santa Clara. They won 87-74.
• With the 88-52 victory, the Cougars are now 4-0 when they are coming off a loss and 8-1 when they play in the Marriott Center. They’re currently on a 4-game home winning streak.
• BYU’s 26-point margin in the second half ties for the second most this season. (+30 vs. Prairie, +26 vs. Longwood)
• When BYU has three players in double figures, the team is 5-2 on the year.

Game Trends

• The Cougars led San Diego 13-2 in the first four minutes of play with all 13 points coming for BYU from Davies and Hartsock.
• BYU went on 13-0 and 6-0 runs in the first half. They started out the second half on a 6-0 run and also went on a 10-0 run between 7:18 and 5:27.
• The Cougars’ 10-point lead at halftime tied for the third-largest halftime margin of the season (+23 vs. Hawaii, +23 vs. NAU, +13 vs. Weber State)
• Brock Zylstra scored 6 of BYU’s first 11 points in the second half.

Head Coach Dave Rose
"From the very beginning of the game we were really challenging them defensively. We were able to get the game in our favor early because we executed our plan well and sustained it throughout the entire game. That was the biggest factor for us in winning the game. I was really pleased with the concentration of our guys today."

"The last two games his (Brandon’s) aggression level has been really consistent. It’s a real sign he has taken a step forward."

Brandon Davies
“We wanted to make sure of our effort defensively was better. We got put on our heels last game. Part of our game plan was to dominate the boards and score from the inside-out. We were fortunate to come away with these numbers. It is always fun when you are winning. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time with scoring opportunities."

Charles Abouo
“We had a sustained defensive effort for the whole game. They have three really good guards and we switched on them when we had to. No one likes to lose games and every time we have a loss, we use it as motivation."

On Brandon Davies: "His (Brandon's) mindset is to help the team win any way he can and when he's playing that way we are hard to beat."

San Diego Head Coach Bill Grier
"Defensively in the second half I thought we did a very poor job. Davies, Hartsock, and Austin got the ball anywhere they wanted in the post, and that's where we want to get better."

On Davies 22 rebounds:

"When we shoot 20 whatever percent, there's a lot of rebounds to be had, but that is a heck of an effort. Dave does such a good job with their big guys. Quite honestly I told our big guys, we need to learn from them: how hard they play, how hard they compete, how tough they are."

"I'm not excited to have to come to the Marriott Center but I do believe its good for our conference. Obviously this program has been very very good. The job Dave has done here has been incredible, and probably not as appreciated as it needs to be. This is a national level program, and that does nothing but help our overall profile. But that doesn't mean I'm excited to come here and play them."