BYU Pulls Away from Eastern Kentucky for Victory
By James Pigott
Apr 2, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Baylor Bears player Isaiah Austin (21) protects the ball from Brigham Young Cougars player Tyler Haws (3) and Brock Zylstra (13) during the second half of the NIT Tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden. Baylor won the game 76-70. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Tyler Haws scored 26 points to lead a second half charge for a BYU Cougars victory over Eastern Kentucky. The Cougars had a ton of sloppy turnovers in the first half, and as a result, led only 32-30 at halftime. However, BYU caught fire in the second half with 10 three pointers to pull away for a 90-76 victory. The score looks much closer than the game actually was in the second half, as the Colonels had a lot of garbage time baskets to make the final score closer.
Haws scored his 26 points on 10/15 shooting to go with 4 assists, while Chase Fischer added 20 points on 4/8 three point shooting. Anson Winder continued to look like one of the best 6th men in the entire country, providing 19 points on 7/11 shooting and led BYU with 5 rebounds as well. Kyle Collinsworth scored all 11 of his points in the second half to go with his 5 assists and 4 turnovers. Skyler Halford scored 9 points, on three triples in the second half that were crucial in BYU’s pulling away from Eastern Kentucky.
Eastern Kentucky was led by Ja’Mill Powell with 26 points and Corey Walden with 15 points and 6 assists. Eric Stutz and Timmy Knipp added 10 points apiece for the Colonels, who were able to fluster BYU on defense in the first half after an early hot start to the game. When their shots stopped going down and BYU’s shot’s started falling, the Colonels had no answers for the Cougars’ offense.
Stat of the Night
BYU had 24 assists to EKU’s 12, which resulted in 15 three pointers for the Cougars on 28 attempts and only 9 threes on 24 attempts for the Colonels. BYU’s impressive ball movement (even the bigs passing out of the post) led to a lot of wide open looks. The Colonels had a lot of contested and forced three point shots and their offense just wasn’t as crisp as BYU’s, especially in the second half.
Moving Forward
The Cougars were able to get their confidence back after the Maui Invitational, and will travel to Logan, Utah for a game against the rebuilding Utah State Aggies on Tuesday night. Gone are Preston Medlin, Jarred Shaw, Spencer Butterfield, Kyle Davis (who transferred to BYU), and others from last year’s Aggies squad, but the tough atmosphere on the road will be a good building experience for BYU.