When the Cougars played North Texas in 1980 the matchup produced several Marriott Center and BYU records. This year Tyler Haws surpassed a milestone he will never forget in a 97-67 win.
Former BYU basketball player Marty Haws is the father of Tyler Haws. Marty Haws played for the Cougars in 1986–90. During his career with the Cougars he scored 1,337 points, putting him on the leader board at No. 20 for most points scored. The last time the Cougars played North Texas Marty Haws was one of the Cougar players. During this year's matchup Tyler Haws broke his dad’s record in total points in the middle of the second half.
Frank Bartley dunks over a North Texas defender in BYU's 97-67 win. (Photo by Ari Davis)
“I’m happy I finally passed him,” Tyler Haws said. “My grandpa had a big box of old tapes. He would record all of (Marty Haws’) games. That’s the only time I would ever watch my dad was at my grandpa’s house. My dad’s not the guy to be like, 'Come watch me.' I heard lots of stories and knew he was a great player. I wouldn’t be the player I am without him.”
In the first half North Texas had a 27-25 lead, but Tyler Haws responded with a three-pointer to put BYU up 28-27. With less than five minutes in the first half, Matt Carlino stole the ball and passed it to Haws to extend the lead to five. Tyler Haws was followed by Skyler Halford, who made a three-pointer, and then another jumper from Haws gave BYU the largest lead of the half at 40-31. Eric Mika then threw down a two-handed dunk to end the half up 42-35.
“Coming into the game, we knew they were very good, very well coached and a great team in transition,” said North Texas head coach Tony Benford. “We knew we were going to have to keep them out of transition and keep them off the backboard, and we didn't do a great job at that. Transition — that was the game. They outscored us 20-2 in the first, and then in the second half they came out and just punched us in the mouth. We didn't do a great job of recovering, and we didn't do a good job of getting stops early.'
Five Cougars scored double digits against North Texas. Tyler Haws had a game-high 23 points and four rebounds. Mika had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kyle Collinsworth chipped in another 17, six assists and five rebounds. Halford contributed another 16 points.
Nate Austin posted his first double-double of his career with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Carlino almost had a triple-double with 11 assists and 10 rebounds but failed to score enough points during the game to accomplish the feat.
“It was a really competitive game in the first half,”said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “Both teams really liked to push the ball, and so it was fast-paced. I really think our guys did a good job in the second half taking advantage of opportunities in transition that came from the way we rebounded the basketball. It was one of our better nights of the season as far as the way we rebounded the basketball.”
BYU will hit the road to play UMass for the Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network and broadcast on the Cougar IMG Sports Network on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM.