The BYU men’s basketball team rolled to an 82-63 victory over the University of San Diego to record their fifth straight victory on Monday.
San Diego attempted to smother the powerful frontcourt tandem of senior Noah Hartsock and junior Brandon Davies with double teams and intense pressure. The extra attention in the post gave the BYU guards a chance hit open shots and create plays for each other.
“When we came in here tonight, they were bound and determined to not let our two post guys have their way, especially offensively,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “It kind of surprised us at first, but our guys were able to get it done a different way than we have normally done.”
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Junior guard Brock Zylstra led the attack with 17 points, hitting five straight 3-pointers, one short of his record-tying performance on Jan. 7 against San Francisco. He also added seven rebounds.
Senior guard Charles Abouo had a balanced game with 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, with most of his points coming in the first half. His scoring was invaulable, keeping the Cougars (16-4, 5-1) in the game near the beginning when San Diego took an early seven-point lead. Freshman guard Matt Carlino also had 14 points, while Davies had his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Hartsock’s streak of 19 consecutive games of double figure scoring was snapped, as he scored just seven points on a rough night of 2-for-12 from the floor.
“This win was kind of special for us,” Rose said. “We had a lot of challenges we experienced for the first time as a team this year. Anytime you play a team the second time, it is a real challenge.”
San Diego was led by sophomore forward Dennis Kramer, who had a career-high 13 points in the first half. However, he only scored two points the rest of the way. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. A pair of freshman guards had big games for the Toreros, as Johnny Dee had 12 points and Christopher Anderson added 11.
Rebounds were a central reason for the BYU victory, as the Cougars outrebounded the Toreros 46-28, and 15-7 on the offensive end.
Junior forward Stephen Rogers re-injured his ankle on a layup in the first half and did not return.
“I really like this team,” Rose said. “I like the makeup of them. They know what they need to do and they were able to get it done.”
The Cougars will return to the Marriott Center on Thursday to host Loyola Marymount Thursday at 6:30.
