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| Photo Credit: BYU Photo |
The BYU sophomore exploded for a career-high 42 points on Saturday, leading his team to a big 97-71 win over hapless Virginia Tech at EnergySolutions Arena. Haws started fast, dropping 29 points in the first half on 9-for-13 shooting, including six three-pointers. And while he cooled off considerably after halftime, he still found a way to break his father Marty Haws' previous family record of 40 points in a Cougar uniform.
It was a breathtaking offensive display. Haws made virtually everything in that first half — open shots, contested shots, impossible shots. Everything was going in. It was almost enough to make a fan harken back to the days of Jimmer. Almost. But lest we forget, Haws is only a sophomore. He has plenty of time to turn in a few more of these performances and etch his own name in BYU lore.
Brandon Davies also had a nice afternoon, scoring 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting before leaving the game with a mild ankle sprain in the second half. While he mostly took a back seat to The Tyler Haws Show, Davies responded when he was called upon and used his excellent footwork to continuously puzzle the Hokie big men in the paint.
Outside of BYU's big two, however, things were a little dicey. The non-Haws-or-Davies Cougars shot measly 35.8 percent combined from the field, and a downright lecherous 9.1 percent from beyond the arc. That is terrible. There's no other way to put it. If Haws has an average game instead of going absolutely bananas, BYU probably loses this one. This team's problems are real, and they still exist despite this afternoon's outcome.
Nevertheless, those are problems to be worried about in the days and weeks ahead. Because Tyler Haws did show up in a big way today, and because he did, BYU heads home to Provo with a convincing victory over a major-conference opponent. He was the singular reason why the Cougars came away victorious. And that's something worth celebrating — if only for today.
Stray Thoughts:
• It is hard to overestimate exactly how bad Virginia Tech was in this one. They couldn't throw the ball in the ocean if they were standing on the beach. The Hokies were a disgraceful 2-for-20 from deep, and they weren't much better overall. They also clanged a staggering number of free throws, hitting on only 55 percent of their opportunities at the stripe. If BYU's non-Haws offense was bad, Virginia Tech was an abomination in the sight of God.
• The Cougars' zone defense did a nice job on Erick Green, the nation's leading scorer. Coming into the game, the Hokie guard was averaging 25.4 points per outing, but finished with just 12 against BYU. A lot of this was due to Green's own poor shooting (4-for-17, and 0-for-5 from deep), as he continually settled for long jump shots. But Dave Rose and his staff deserve credit for their strategic approach — they made the decision to sit in the zone and take away Green's dribble penetration, daring Virginia Tech's auxiliary players to beat them by making open shots instead. They obviously were unable to do so, and things worked out for BYU.
• Davies' ankle injury does not appear to be serious. Team sources said following the game that he could have reentered if he had been needed, but that Rose opted to sit him down with the contest so clearly in hand. You may now breathe a massive sigh of relief.
• Outside of Haws and Davies, Josh Sharp probably turned in the best BYU performance. He finished with 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor, including a massive throwdown over a few Virginia Tech defenders in traffic that will surely make the team's end-of-year highlight video. He also went 4-for-5 at the line. Sharp's game is rarely pretty, but it is effective. He mostly hangs around the basket, grabs rebounds, and shoots open layups when the ball bounces to him. Every team needs a guy like that.
• Matt Carlino and Anson Winder both got into early foul trouble, which left Cory Calvert to play most of the first half at the point guard spot. The Colorado kid kept the trains running on time, steadily feeding the ball to either Haws or Davies. It was a nice opportunity for Calvert to gain some more experience outside of garbage time.
• After starting for most of the season, Craig Cusick seems to buried on the bench right now. He is currently backing up Brock Zylstra and Raul Delgado at the shooting guard spot, and got just 12 minutes of playing time for the second game in a row. It's hard to get into an offensive rhythm when you're getting that kind of limited opportunity, and it showed.
• Raul Delgado had another nice outing, and appears to be building confidence in his game. He made BYU's only non-Haws three-pointer, and looked particularly active within the zone defense in the first half. If Zylstra continues to struggle (he is 2-for-14 from deep over the last seven games), look for Delgado to potentially slide into the starting lineup if he continues to progress at this rate.
• Nate Austin: 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 fouls in 17 minutes. The good Lord giveth, and he taketh away just as quickly.
• But seriously. Tyler. Haws. That step-back jumper he drained in the first half? Or more accurately, everything he drained in the first half? So cold. The Haws is unconcerned with the opposition's petty attempts at "defense." It's like he's from another world on days like this. Just a flat-out pleasure to watch.
UP NEXT: BYU vs. Loyola Marymount, Saturday, 7:00 p.m. MST
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