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Las Vegas • After Tyler Haws' clutch 18-foot jumper finally put away pesky Santa Clara, 78-76, late Saturday night in a West Coast Conference men's basketball quarterfinal game, Haws and fellow guard Kyle Collinsworth acknowledged there's a lot of pressure on the NCAA bubble-sitting Cougars, as opposed to their lower-seeded opponents.
"Those first games are tough, because [opponents] have already played, and have momentum, and they kind of have a nothing-to-lose type attitude through the whole tournament," Collinsworth said.
Meanwhile, the second-seeded Cougars (24-8) played like they had a lot to lose, knowing they are teetering on the edge of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
"Every game, we are fighting for our lives," said Haws, who had 30 points or more for the 14th time this season. "They just came out firing and playing with nothing to lose, really, by playing really loose."
Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating's curious pre-game statements that BYU is already in the Big Dance notwithstanding, some bracketologists, such as CBS Sports' Jerry Palm, still have the Cougars on the outside looking in.
"Lots of guys on the team don't pay attention to what those [bracket experts] say," Haws said. "It really doesn't matter; we just got to keep fighting, keep winning games, and keep proving to everyone that we deserve a spot in that tournament."
Another win would seemingly do the trick, especially if top-seeded Gonzaga gets past Pepperdine in the other semifinal. If the Waves somehow win the WCC tournament title and automatic bid, it is doubtful the NCAA Selection committee would invite three WCC teams.
The Cougars tightened up and had trouble holding leads against the Broncos. They stopped attacking and being the aggressors at times, a strategy that served them well in the 73-70 win over Gonzaga on Feb. 28.
Up next for BYU is another team, 17-14 Portland, that was able to play free and easy in its impressive 69-52 win over Saint Mary's on Saturday. Tipoff for the Cougars-Pilots WCC semifinal is at 9:30 p.m. MDT Monday and the game will be televised by ESPN2.
"The challenge that we have is right out in front of us," BYU coach Dave Rose said.
The Cougars defeated Portland 82-69 at Chiles Center, but the Pilots led 41-33 at halftime. BYU won 97-88 in Provo on Dec. 29, pulling away late.
Portland lost its last four regular-season games, but looked like a different team at Orleans Arena. Kevin Bailey scored 16 points and freshman Jason Todd, filling in for 6-foot-11 Volodymyr Gerun, who was ill, added 14.
"They are big, and they are skilled, and they were really efficient today," Rose said. "They shot the ball really well, and they spread the ball around. They don't depend on just one or two guys."
Rose said the win was "obviously a huge win" for embattled Portland coach Eric Reveno.
"They kind of hit a skid and they came in here on a little skid and they got a huge win, so it should be a really competitive game [against BYU]," Rose continued. "If you saw the highlights of our game last Thursday, the [final] score was eight or nine points, but it was a down-to-the-wire kind of game, so we are looking forward to it."
The Cougars didn't come out of the quarterfinal win unscathed. Senior guard Anson Winder was slowed by the knee (meniscus) and upper leg issues that have plagued him much of the season, and Corbin Kaufusi rolled an ankle but still managed a career-high seven rebounds and seven points in arguably his best performance as a BYU basketball player.
Twitter: @drewjay —
BYU vs. Portland
O WCC tournament semifinal
At Orleans Arena, Las Vegas
Tipoff • 9:30 p.m. MDT
TV • ESPN2
Radio • 1160 AM/102.7 FM
Records • BYU 24-8; Portland 17-14
Series history • BYU leads, 12-1
Last meeting • BYU 82, Portland 69 (Feb. 26, 2015)
About the Pilots • Seeded sixth in the WCC tournament, they dumped No. 3 Saint Mary's 69-52 in a quarterfinal game Saturday. … Senior G Kevin Bailey scored 16 points and freshman Jason Todd added 14. … They shot 50 percent from the field and had just 10 turnovers against the Gaels.
About the Cougars • In Saturday's 78-76 win over Santa Clara, Kyle Collinsworth scored 15 points to move into 42nd place on the all-time NCAA scoring list. … Tyler Haws, who made the game-winning basket with 2.5 seconds remaining, moved into 26th place on the all-time NCAA scoring list and now has 2,654 in his career.