Recap: BYU 80, San Francisco 76

Photo Credit: Daily Herald

During the course of a basketball season, some nights will be good and some nights will be bad. Some nights your shots will fall and some nights you'll draw nothing but iron. Some nights the calls go your way and some nights your best players get mired in foul trouble. The difference between the good teams and the mediocre teams is that the good teams find a way to win when they have bad nights. They figure out how to get it done.

After tonight, it appears that BYU just might have what it takes to be a good team.

The Cougars rebounded from a horrific first half performance to snatch a thrilling 80-76 road victory over San Francisco from the jaws of defeat — but not before giving me about 17 heart attacks. The boys in blue did most of their damage with their best player, Brandon Davis, stuck on the bench with persistent foul trouble, which makes the feat even more impressive in hindsight.

Report Card: BYU 85, San Francisco 84

Brigham Young Cougars

85

Final

84

San Francisco Dons

STARTERS

	Matt Carlino, PG 13-19 FG | 4-7 3PT | 0-1 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 30 PTS Obviously the star of the evening. Carlino started off hot (and I mean Jimmer hot), matching his career high with 22 — in the first half! Matt struggled reading the defense a bit in the second half, but he played solid defense (4 steals) and showed up when it counted most. While it might get overshadowed by fan anger about clock management, Carlino's game-winner was monumentally clutch.
	Anson Winder, SG 3-5 FG | 0-0 3PT | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 8 PTS Winder doesn't have to score much to be extremely valuable to the Cougars. He adds plenty of value as a excellent defender who understands the game and picks his spots wisely on offense. His coast-to-coast drive (finished with a deft Eurostep move) was a thing of beauty. The decision to swap Anson into the starting five for Zylstra may be Rose's smartest of the season.
	Charles Abouo, SF 6-11 FG | 3-6 3PT | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 15 PTS Oh, Charles. You got a little excited, didn't you? With time running out quickly and BYU nursing a small lead, Abouo hoisted up a few ill-advised deep balls very early in the shot clock, giving USF the extra possessions it needed to crawl back into the game. Not so good. However, Charles actually played extremely well up to that point, so I can only justify knocking him down half a grade. But if BYU had lost...
	Noah Hartsock, PF 7-13 FG | 0-0 3PT | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 16 PTS This was a tough one for Hartsock. BYU shot only 9 free throws as a team the entire night, so obviously the whistles weren't going his way down low. He also had a surprising amount of trouble anticipating double-teams in the post, which I wouldn't have expected. But at the end of the day, Noah is still Noah and he made some tough shots down the stretch, providing a huge boost to the sputtering Cougs.
	Brandon Davies, C 3-7 FG | 0-0 3PT | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 6 PTS Davies very well may be the most dominating post player in the WCC, but that doesn't matter much if he can't stay on the floor. He struggled with fouls early again Thursday, and played only 21 minutes as a result. (When he was in the game, Brandon tried his best Magic Johnson impression with mixed results. It was weird.) All in all, not his best game, but not a complete disaster either. Simply below par.

Report Card: BYU 81, San Francisco 56

Brigham Young Cougars

81

Final

56

San Francisco Dons

STARTERS

	Matt Carlino, PG 4-6 FG | 2-3 3PT | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 4 AST | 12 PTS Message received, loud and clear. Carlino was a much different player than we saw Thursday in Los Angeles, looking first to get his teammates involved rather than for his own shot. As our point guard, I like to see him sharing the ball, but the pendulum may have swung a tiny bit too far. Carlino attempted just 6 shots, and while it didn't matter much Saturday, BYU will need his scoring moving forward.
	Brock Zylstra, SG 8-8 FG | 6-6 3PT | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 22 PTS Zylstra continued to stake his claim for the title of World's Greatest Player Against Mediocre Competition. Brock was blistering hot against USF and he didn't miss a single shot, even going a perfect 6-for-6 from deep. What's more, he also grabbed 6 boards and dished out 3 dimes. He looked like an All-American. Now he just needs to do that in a competitive game...
	Charles Abouo, SF 1-5 FG | 0-1 3PT | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 7 AST | 2 PTS This is a weird stat line that I really can't explain. I don't remember Charles dishing out 7 assists (with no turnovers!), but apparently that quietly happened. Good on him for pulling back and finding another way to contribute on a night when his shot wasn't falling. (Lemonade out of lemons, etc.) A nice bit of self-awareness that wasn't present against LMU.
	Noah Hartsock, PF 5-9 FG | 0-1 3PT | 4-4 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 14 PTS Hartsock took an unusual backseat to The Brock Zylstra Show tonight, and understandably so. Nevertheless, despite taking only 9 shots, Noah did his usual business — scoring and rebounding with the efficiency of a robot assassin. It's a testament to his talent that he always finds a way to produce, even when his touches are reduced.
	Brandon Davies, C 5-9 FG | 0-0 3PT | 2-4 FT | 6 REB | 6 AST | 12 PTS Davies started the game hot, and had 9 points after about 5 minutes. He was dominating from everywhere — posting up inside, knocking down mid-range jumpers, dishing out assists — and the Dons didn't seem to have an answer. Unfortunately, he picked up two quick fouls and had to come out soon thereafter, and he never quite found that same rhythm again when he eventually returned.