BYU Easily Defeats Santa Clara

Mar 20, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Frank Bartley IV (24) shoots a jump shot over Oregon Ducks forward Mike Moser (0) during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

The BYU Cougars got off to a 36-8 start to cruise to an easy victory over the Santa Clara Broncos by a score of 81-46.  The Cougars used defensive pressure, transition baskets, and hot shooting to jump out to a big lead, pleasing the majority Cougar faithful in the Leavey Center.

Tyler Haws passed Devin Durrant to move into 4th all time in BYU scoring with 14 points today on 5/9 shooting.  He looked like he tweaked his ankle in the second half, but said he felt fine in the post game interview on BYUtv.  Chase Fischer added 14 points, while Kyle Collinsworth had a solid all-around game with 8 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Jake Toolson and Skyler Halford gave BYU some hot shooting off the bench with 8 points apiece and a combined 4/7 from beyond the arc.

No one played well on offense for Santa Clara, but Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge had 12 and 10 points respectively.  As a team, the Broncos shot just 30 percent from the field, forced into a lot of tough three point shots by BYU’s containment defense.

Notes

– Jake Toolson seems to have passed Frank Bartley in the backcourt rotation, as Toolson came into the game early in the first half and hit a couple of outside shots.  Bartley did play well in garbage time when he came in, so it will be interesting to see who eventually wins out as the second guard off BYU’s bench (with Halford being the first).

– Jared Brownridge seems to be shifting into the primary distributor role for Santa Clara, as he got 6 assists in the game, while Brandon Clark had just 1.

Moving Forward

BYU will travel to face San Francisco on Saturday, while Santa Clara plays host to San Diego that same day.