Matt Carlino finished with 15 points, a game-high six assists
and also had three steals for Brigham Young (19-10, 11-5).
Freshman forward Eric Mika scored 13 points and grabbed eight
rebounds while Tyler Haws chipped in with 12 points as the
Cougars won for just the second time in their last 15 games
against a ranked opponent.
Sam Dower had 14 points and eight rebounds and Kevin Pangos
added 13 points for Gonzaga (23-5, 13-2). The Bulldogs, who had
16 turnovers and connected on just 4-of-18 3-pointers, need to
win one of their final three games to clinch an outright
conference championship.
Brigham Young, which entered the game 0-4 this season against
ranked opponents, built up a 34-24 first half lead with Mika,
normally a starter, coming off the bench to score 11 points over
an eight-minute stretch. Gonzaga, getting five points off the
bench from seldom-used 7-1 backup center Ryan Edwards, went on a
15-2 run to take a 39-36 lead before Haws nailed a 3-pointer off
one leg at the buzzer to tie it at halftime.
Haws began the second half by sinking a jumper that started a
6-0 run for the Cougars who never trailed in the second half.
The Zags closed to within 64-60 on a pair of free throws by Kyle
Dranginis with 3:53 remaining, but Carlino scored on
back-to-back possessions to put the Cougars back up by eight
points and Gonzaga never got closer than four points the rest of
the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Haws scored in double figures for the
42nd-straight game, which ties him with Jimmer Fredette for the
sixth-longest streak in school history. ... Edwards, forced into
to duty because of foul problems to Dower and starting center
Przemek Karnowski, scored the first two field goals of his
career. ... BYU improved to 13-1 at home this season with the
only loss to Iowa State 90-88.
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