BYU Cougars

Emery, Haws lead BYU past Colorado 79-71 (Dec 10, 2016)

Published Dec. 11, 2016 1:19 a.m. ET

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AP

PROVO, Utah (AP) Nick Emery scored 22 points, Eric Mika had 17 and TJ Haws added 16 as Brigham Young defeated Colorado 79-71 on Saturday night.

Colorado (7-3) missed 11 of its final 12 shot attempts of the game. The Buffaloes led 62-61 with 7:50 left, but BYU (7-3) seized control with a 12-1 run and held on for its second win in as many games.

''I really felt like tonight was one of the best all-around performances of this group,'' Cougars coach Dave Rose said. ''Every guy didn't have a great game as far as numbers were concerned, but every guy that played gave supreme effort.''

The Buffs trailed for most of the game, but led 58-55 after a jumper from Wesley Gordon with 9:43 left in the game. But BYU freshman Steven Beo, making just his seventh career appearance, drained a 3-pointer from the right corner on the Cougars' next possession to tie the game. After Thomas Akyazili hit a 3-pointer for Colorado, the Buffs didn't hit another shot for more than eight minutes as BYU pulled away.

The Buffaloes went 9 for 29 from the field in the second half, including 3 for 13 from 3-point range.

''We turned the ball over and we didn't get good movement - we were standing around a lot,'' said Colorado's Derrick White, who led the Buffaloes with 21 points.

The Cougars outrebounded the Buffaloes 46-31, including a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass.

''We've all just got to rebound collectively,'' said Colorado junior George King, who had 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. ''What do we say at Colorado? Defend and rebound. We didn't do a good job defending in the second half and we got beat on the boards.''

BYU was 9 for 19 from 3-point range, including a 4-for-5 effort by Haws.

Yoeli Childs had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Cougars. Xavier Johnson had 17 points for the Buffaloes.

BIG PICTURE

Colorado: The Buffs lost a true road game for the first time this season, thanks in large part to a stretch of more than eight minutes late in the second half during which Colorado failed to hit a field goal.

BYU: The Cougars won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 19-21, when BYU defeated Coastal Carolina and Saint Louis to cap a four-game, season-opening winning streak.

UNDER THE WEATHER

Mika went just 3 for 11 from the field, but was 11 for 13 from the foul line, snagged seven rebounds, dished out six assists and blocked three shots despite battling through an illness. The performance came on the heels of a 26-point outing Wednesday against Weber State. ''Eric's had a tough week,'' Rose said. ''He played Wednesday night and then he played again (Saturday). The days in between ... he's had a tough week.''

A LONG TIME COMING

The Cougars' win was their first over Colorado since Dec. 17, 1955, and just their seventh in 24 meetings with the Buffaloes. However, Saturday's game was just the second meeting between the schools since 1955, with the Buffaloes winning 92-83 last season in Boulder.

UP NEXT

Colorado plays host to Division II Fort Hays State in exhibition play Saturday in Boulder, Colorado, before traveling to Air Force for a nonconference matchup on Dec. 19.

BYU meets Illinois on Saturday in the State Farm Chicago Legends at the United Center in Chicago.

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