WCC Tournament Recap: BYU Defeats Santa Clara On Haws Game-Winner

Tyler Haws hit the game winning jump shot with 2.5 seconds left as BYU escaped with a 78-76 victory over Santa Clara in the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament.  BYU was leading by 5 with just under 4 minutes left thanks to two huge baskets from Skyler Halford, but Brandon Clark scored 5 quick points for Santa Clara to cut the lead to 2 with a minute left.  Halford then proceeded to turn the ball over at mid court, allowing for an easy Jared Brownridge layup to tie the game.  With BYU holding for the final shot, Haws pulled up from the top of the key and hit a long two point shot that game BYU the victory.

More from 2015 WCC Tournament

• Looking Back on Gonzaga’s Season
• Gonzaga Wins Men’s WCC Championship
• BYU Wins Women’s WCC Tournament Championship
• WCC Tournament Men’s Final Preview: #1 Gonzaga vs. #2 BYU
• WCC Championship Keys to the Game: Gonzaga

Haws led BYU with 30 points on 9/19 shooting, while Kyle Collinsworth chipped in 15 points and 8 rebounds.  Most of those points came in the first half, before KC picked up his second foul and sat the last 10 minutes of the half.  Corbin Kaufusi has showed continued improvement at the center spot, and finished the game with 7 points (5/6 free throws), 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.  Neither Halford nor Anson Winder scored in double figures but both made key baskets in the second half that helped BYU get the victory.

Santa Clara was led by the usual suspects, Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge, with a little help from Denzel Johnson.  Brownridge led the Broncos with 29 points on 10/17 shooting and 6/11 from beyond the arc. Clark chipped in with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Denzel Johnson added 12 points on 5/10 shooting but struggled with foul trouble in the loss.  Clark and Johnson wrap up their four year careers at Santa Clara with the highlight coming as sophomores in 2013, winning the postseason College Basketball Invitational.

News and Notes

• BYU guard Anson Winder still doesn’t look healthy coming off of his groin injury.  He looked a step slow on defense for most of the game, and over his last three contests, is 0/9 from inside the arc and 3/6 from beyond the arc.
• Dave Rose is definitely preparing Luke Worthington for life without competitive basketball over the next two years on his LDS mission, as Worthington registered his second DNP Coach’s Decision of the season.
• After 12 points in the first round victory over LMU, Santa Clara guard Jarvis Pugh was limited to just 2 points on 2 shot attempts in 36 minutes played in the loss to BYU.
• BYU will face Portland in the semifinals of the 2015 WCC Tournament on Monday night.