Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Tyler Haws went 14-of-14 at the free-throw
line on his way to 24 points as the BYU Cougars clinched the No. 3 seed in the
West Coast Conference Tournament with a 73-70 win over the Loyola Marymount
Lions in the regular season finale for both sides at Gersten Pavilion.
Matt Carlino and Brandon Davies scored 11 points each for BYU (21-10, 10-6
WCC) as it recovered from back-to-back losses to Saint Mary's and Gonzaga.
Carlino dealt out seven assists and Davies paced the team on the boards with
eight rebounds.
Anthony Ireland led LMU (8-22, 1-15) with 24 points and five assists as it was
handed its 14th consecutive loss. Ashley Hamilton delivered 18 points and six
rebounds in his final collegiate home game as the Lions finished the season at
the bottom of the WCC standings.
LMU did not look like a last place team in the early going as it jumped out to
a 16-10 lead just under six minutes after tip-off. The momentum shifted to the
visitors as BYU connected on 45.2 percent of their field goal attempts before
the break to overcome the early deficit and take a 34-28 lead into halftime.
The Cougars cooled off slightly after the break to shoot 43.8 percent from the
floor, but they also sank 21-of-29 at the charity stripe. BYU arrived at a
60-45 lead at the 5:49 mark of the second half before the Lions staged a late
comeback effort. Ireland connected on a triple with six seconds left to make
it a four-point affair with six seconds left before Haws made his final two
free-throw tries to push the Cougars' edge back to six. Ireland hit another
trey just before the buzzer to finalize the score.
BYU held a 43-27 edge in the rebounding battle to overcome the Lions' 22-3
advantage in points off of turnovers.
GAME NOTES:
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