BROOKLYN, New York — Despite Tyler Haws and Brandon Davies combining for 42 points, BYU men’s basketball fell 88-70 to Florida State in the Acura Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Friday at the Barclays Center.
"I thought Florida State played really, really well tonight," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "Watching them on film it’s hard to get a real feel for how skilled of a team they are. We battled the whole game though – I thought our effort was good tonight. When you come away with 20-plus offensive rebounds it tells you that your guys are really working hard. Now we just learn from our mistakes and move forward. We still have a lot of basketball to play."
Haws led BYU (2-1) with a season-high 23 points — including the team's first 11 points to start the game — and added team highs of nine rebounds and five assists. Brandon Davies also scored 19 points while Brock Zylstra and Craig Cusick each added 10.
FSU (2-1) was led by Okara White who scored 17 points while Michael Snaer (16), Ian Miller (15) and Devon Bookert (15) also scored in double figures. The hot-shooting Seminoles shot 58.0 percent from the field and 55.0 percent from the free throw line.
FSU scored the game's first six points before Haws hit a 15-foot jump shot at the 16:37 mark to put the Cougars on the board. Haws scored the next nine points for the Cougars, highlighted by a 3-point shot and a break-away layup. With Haws as BYU's lone scorer early on, the Cougars trailed 23-11.
Zylstra scored his first points of the game on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 10:15 left in the first half and then Nate Austin followed with a 3-point play of his own after being fouled under the basket. Cusick added to the BYU run with a 3-point shot while Zylstra sank two free throws to cut the FSU lead to five at 27-22.
Davies scored his first points of the game with 7:45 to go before halftime after grabbing an offensive rebound and finishing at the basket. He then scored the next four points for the Cougars to cut the Seminole lead to three (31-28), its smallest lead since the 15:26 mark. Haws tallied the next four points to put BYU within two (34-32).
At the 4:09 mark, Zylstra hit a jumper to bring the game to a 34-34 tie. FSU quickly responded and with a 10-1 run to end the half and went into the locker room up 44-35.
Davies started the second half with a commanding dunk and then ran the floor to finish on an easy layup and give BYU four quick points. However, FSU kept the pressure on BYU and hit two 3-pointers to grab a 15-point lead with 15 minutes remaining in the half.
Less than six minutes into the second half Davies was whistled for his fourth foul and went to the bench. FSU took advantage and went on a 13-0 run to extend its lead to 20 at 63-43. Zylstra ended the run at the 13:47 mark with a 3-pointer, but the Seminoles answered that shot with an 8-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 75-48.
The Cougars continued to fight and put together a 12-0 run to cut the FSU lead to 14 at 80-66. Davies scored six points during the run and Cory Calvert hit his second shot of the night for a new career high in points with four.
FSU ended the BYU run at 4:35 and held onto its double-digit lead to hand BYU its first loss of the season with a score of 88-70.
BYU will play the winner of Notre Dame and St. Joseph's Saturday at the Barclays Center at 7 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast live on truTV and will be aired live on KSL News Radio 102.7 FM/1160 AM and BYU Radio. Check the BYU men's basketball schedule for updated information.