BYU Rallies in Second Half to Beat Utah State
By James Pigott
Nov 30, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah State Aggies forward/center Jarred Shaw (5) and Brigham Young Cougars guard Skyler Halford (23) fight for a loose ball during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
Tyler Haws scored a season high 32 points as BYU pulled away from Utah State in the second half despite a one point halftime deficit, defeating the Aggies 91-81. Kyle Collinsworth added 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Anson Winder added 17 points and 3 assists off the bench. Nate Austin pulled down 9 rebounds to go with 5 points despite an embarrassing three point air ball at the end of the game.
USU was led by their starting backcourt of Darius Perkins and Chris Smith, who scored 21 and 25 points respectively. Jalen Moore had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, but shot just 4/13 from the field. The Aggies shot 50% from beyond the arc compared to BYU’s 20%, but they were severely hurt by 15 turnovers compared to BYU’s excellent 6 turnovers the entire game.
Chase Fischer had a really bad night, scoring just 3 points on 1/9 shooting. His inconsistency is starting to look eerily like that of Matt Carlino’s the past few seasons. In Fischer’s last four games, here are his stats: 30 points (10/14 shooting), 7 points (2/11 shooting), 20 points (7/12 shooting), 3 points (1/9 shooting). Dave Rose needs to know what he’s getting out of Fischer or he will continue to sit in favor of Anson Winder who looks like the best 6th man in the entire country right now and has scored 17 or more points in each of his last four games.
Stat of the Night
BYU outrebounded Utah State 46-33, which allowed the Cougars advance despite their relatively poor shooting compared to Utah State’s. Another key stat was that BYU made more free throws than their opponent attempted, which is always a good sign. The Cougars were 34/39 from the charity stripe and Utah State was 21/30.
Moving Forward
BYU will take on Hawaii at EnergySolutions Arena on Saturday. Like the Aggies, U of H is also in a semi-rebuilding mode after without their top two scorers from last season, Christian Standhardinger (who torched Saint Mary’s in the 2013 Diamond Head Classic), and Isaac Fotu. Hopefully a large contingent of Cougar fans will make the trip to Salt Lake City to support their team.