BYU Basketball Recap: Cougars Overcome Santa Clara Comeback to win 72-60

Kyle Collinsworth scored 13 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and handed out 6 assists, as the BYU Cougars held off a second half run to defeat the Santa Clara Broncos 72-60 in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament.  BYU got out to a 26-9 lead at the 7:00 mark of the first half, but when Jared Brownridge finally started knocking down some outside shots, in addition to attacking the basket, his offense led to defensive energy for the Broncos.  Despite a Zac Seljaas buzzer beater to end the half, Santa Clara cut the lead to 10 points going into the locker room.

The Broncos would cut the BYU lead to as little as one point, but could never come all the way back, missing a number of potentially game tying shots in the second half.  Kyle Davis stepped up down low to give the Cougars a 65-56 lead with two minutes remaining.  BYU then made enough free throws down the stretch to earn a difficult win over the Broncos.

In addition to Collinsworth, four other Cougars scored in double figures.  Chase Fischer struggled to hit his outside shot, but finished with 14 points.  Nick Emery and Zac Seljaas each hit three 3 pointers, finishing with 15 and 12 points respectively.  Kyle Davis was arguably the most important player with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and the Cougars were +23 in his 28 minutes of action.

Brownridge reached the 30 point mark today, but did so on just 9/28 from the field. He was the Broncos only double figure scorer.  BYU held Santa Clara to just 36% from the field and 26% from beyond the arc in the victory.  The Cougars had their struggles offensively, but showed impressive resiliency to hold on when Santa Clara made their run.  BYU will face the winner of the Gonzaga-Portland game in the semifinals in their quest for a WCC Tournament championship and an NCAA automatic bid.