BYU took down Santa Clara tonight by the score of 82-67. Check out the AP story on the game and box score here. Rather than duplicate the effort on that recap I'll just give you some random thoughts on the game.
- BYU came within a hair of losing its best player, Noah Hartsock, for the season. That would have been disastrous for the team. Hartsock twisted his knee in a grotesque looking way and stayed on the floor writhing in pain. It looked like he was down for the season to me. But after a while Hartsock was able to get up and walk off. More surprisingly Hartsock passed all the trainers' tests and even came back in. BYU seems to have dodged a huge bullet.
While Hartsock came back in tonight, I will still be surprised if he can contribute much next week. That knee has to be at least sprained right? (Right?)
Matt Carlino was also battling a mildy sprained knee and his scoring output of 2 points reflected that. But he still contributed 7 assists and a couple of steals.
Davies and Hartsock continue to show they make up the best college frontcourt in the West. Together they scored 41 of BYU's 82 points.
Zysltra played well off the bench drilling 2 of 3 of his threes, scoring 12 overall, and grabbing 5 boards.
BYU has just a few days to heal up and get ready for the big game in Spokane next week. Winning that game was always going to be a challenge for BYU but the task will be monumental if Carlino and Hartsock aren't at full speed.
Nice contribution from BYU's other senior Charles Abouo tonight. Abouo logged 14 points and 8 boards. Chuck hasn't been dominant this season like I had hoped but BYU is better with him on the floor. Good to see him play well.
I wonder if Stephen Rogers will be ready to go soon... If he is healthy enough to play the game at Gonzaga would be a great time to get him back.
BYU is not a lock for an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney but they are getting closer to being a lock with every win. With SMC and GU dropping games in conference BYU is still in the hunt for the WCC title as well.
What say you Cougar fans? Share your thoughts on the game in the comments.
