BYU vs Weber State Final: Cougars tame the Wildcats 76-60, Tyler Haws injured

On the road after a close loss to the University of Utah, the BYU Cougars faced off against the Weber State Wildcats, another in-state program. The Cougars were looking to tie up the series record at 10 wins each as they battled in the Dee Events Center. The game was ugly at times but the Cougars were able to keep control for most of the game and came away with the 76-60 win, and their 12th straight win over the Wildcats.

1st Half

Chase Fischer started the scoring a minute into the game as he hit a corner three to give BYU the lead 3-0. BYU would rely on the three all half as they took 10 of 21 shots from behind the arc. The half was full of runs by both teams but BYU would make the first one with a 10-0 run to take a 15-4 lead.

BYU would lead the entire half thanks to three point shots from Chase Fischer and Isaac Neilson. Shooting 80% from the three point line kept the Cougars up double digits for most of half with only a few dips into single digits. Tyler Haws would once again lead the Cougars in the half as he scored 14, including a three that gave him his 2,200th career point.

The Cougars had their struggles as they found themselves with the turnover bug early and gave up the ball eight times in the half, after only giving it up seven times total against Utah. Weber state would have the same problem as they turned the ball over seven times but didn't have the three, or a double digit scorer to fall back on. Both teams had a chance to score on their last possession but both fell short as they went into the locker room with a 39-25 Cougar lead.

Related: Video - Dave Rose postgame presser

2nd Half

The second half started off sloppy as the teams combined for three straight turnovers sandwiched between two missed shots. Neilson would quickly go on a run as he scored the next seven points for the Cougars while hitting two three pointers and a free throw, giving the Cougars a 46-27 lead.

The Wildcats would hit a three pointer before the first time out but continued to struggle from the field. Over the next four minutes the teams would play sloppy ball as turnovers and missed shots gave the Wildcats a chance to cut the lead to 10 at 49-39. Luke Worthington would find himself on the bench early with four fouls and Corbin Kaufusi struggled all night with turnovers and missed shots in the paint before finally scoring on a dunk.

Weber State would finally cut the lead to single digits with 11 to go and BYU up 51-43. Kyle Collinsworth quickly pushed it back to 10 with his first points of the game on a dunk. With just over six minutes left the Cougars went back up by 16 as Haws converted a three point play, Weber State missed a layup, and Fischer hit a three. Things quickly got out of hand as BYU jumped to a 20 point lead and took the air out of the Wildcats.

The Cougars were once again led by Haws with 19 points and seven rebounds and five assists before leaving with an apparent ankle injury. Haws rolled on his ankle contesting a driving layup from Richaud Gittens with 3:29 remaining. Neilson added 15 in his first start and Fischer added 13 as the only other Cougars in double digits. For the second game in a row the Cougars failed to reach the 85 point mark and scored well below their 91 point average.

Next Game

BYU will next travel back to Provo to host the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, December 20th at 9 pm MST. The game will be televised on ESPNU.