Provo • Still without its leading scorer, and days after falling in overtime at Saint Mary’s, BYU came out hot on Saturday night. So hot, the Cougars were hitting all of their early shots while preventing Portland to score even one basket.
But as quickly as BYU heated up, it also cooled down. The Cougars struggled to play consistently throughout the game — until the latter stages.
However, the Cougars’ fast start — and complete team effort — proved to be enough to hold back Portland as BYU beat the Pilots 96-70 at the Marriott Center.
Six players scored in double digits to help propel the Cougars. Off the bench, Zac Seljaas dropped a team-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting (5 of 5 from 3-point range), followed by Dalton Nixon (14), TJ Haws (13), Kolby Lee (13), Jake Toolson (12) and Alex Barcello (11).
Haws also added a career-high 14 assists and Nixon posted his first double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.
BYU opened the game on a 15-0 run, led by 6-of-6 shooting, to stun the Pilots. Portland eventually scored, but BYU continued building its lead, 24-2, until the Pilots finally found their footing.
Portland quickly responded with a small 6-0 run, but later made six consecutive shots to mount a larger 13-2 run.
BYU was held scoreless for more than two minutes until Barcello drilled back-to-back baskets.
By halftime, the Cougars led 51-30. The 51 points at the half tied for most points scored in a first half, set previously against Montana Tech and Weber State.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/39Y4Irb
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