Player Notes
- Brandon Davies scored 14 points and had 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 assist. He has scored in double figures in 12-straight and 19 games total this season.
- Noah Hartsock finished with 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting. The senior added 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Hartsock has scored in double figures in 23 of 24 games this year.
- Anson Winder came off the bench to add 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
- Matt Carlino scored 11-straight points in the second half and finished with 15 for the game to go along with 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Team Notes
- Head coach Dave Rose went with the starting lineup of Matt Carlino, Brock Zylstra, Charles Abouo, Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies.
- The Cougars recorded more offensive rebounds (17) than defensive rebounds (13) but lost the rebounding battle 35-30.
- BYU lost its third home game in a season for the first time since the 2004-05 season when the Cougars went 6-8 at the Marriott Center.
- BYU outscored the Gaels in points in the paint (34-32), points off turnovers (18-17), second-chance points (14-12) but fell behind in fast break points (4-2) and bench points (22-15).
Game Trends
- Davies started the game off with a one handed dunk for the first score and both teams traded baskets with the score tied 6-6 with 15:23 remaining in the first half.
- Anson Winder hit BYU’s first trey of the game with 3:53 left in the first half to end a 10-0 Saint Mary’s run. BYU trailed 32-23 at that point.
- BYU continued to struggle to shoot, finshing the half shooting 10 of 27 from the field and just 1 of 7 from downtown. The Gaels continued to push the ball and took a 40-28 lead into halftime.
- Saint Mary’s used an early run to stretch its lead to 59-40 with 13:27 left in the game.
- BYU cut the lead to 70-60 with 4:02 remaining in the game and then into single digits with a free throw later on but couldn’t get any closer before falling 80-66.
BYU head coach Dave Rose
“It was a really hard fought game from both teams and both played really well. I think Saint Mary’s played terrific, especially in that first half by spreading us out, and having multiple players make big shots and big plays. I think they got us to where we were rushing more like we did when we played over there. A lot of that has to do with us getting behind and turning it over inside so it led to us getting in a hurry. In the second half, it seemed like every time we had a chance to get back in it they made a big play and took it away again.”
“The game was going back and forth until they were able to pull away with big threes so then we went to man and they got another three. It’s just a good win for them.”
BYU senior Noah Hartsock
“They’re a really good team and they were able to make those runs. They’re one of those teams that when they get on runs they keep it going, and that’s what they did. Their defense was really good and they did a great job of denying the post play. It was just one of those games we needed to play with more patience. We rely on the zone a lot so it was big when we had to switch to man but they made those threes that forced us to switch.”
Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett
“We played really well defensively. Our defense kept us in the game because they did a good job pressuring us and we turned it over a lot. It was a strange game with the way they came back a bit in the second half. But what kept us in it was our ability to play like we wanted to on defense.”
On playing Matt Dellavedova with three fouls:
“I don’t like taking him out. He is a really good and smart player. We just had to be careful in the second half because he is an aggressive player and could have picked up a foul on a loose ball or rebound. But as long as he is in there, I’m confident.”
“We knew that this is one of the toughest places to play in college basketball. Our guys knew what was at stake in this game. We respect BYU and their program. Our guys were ready for this tough environment.”
On guarding Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock:
“We tried to force them into tough shots. They are going to get the ball and they are going to score, you can’t stop that. We just wanted to limit the number of easy baskets they got.”