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Provo • BYU basketball coach Dave Rose will go after his 300th career win on Saturday night when the Cougars play host to struggling Portland in the Marriott Center.
It should be considerably easier than the last time Rose tried to accomplish the feat, Thursday's 85-75 loss to No. 1 Gonzaga. The undefeated Zags (23-0) showed their mettle in spades when the Cougars made several late rallies and the sellout crowd of 18,987 was at full throat, spoiling what could have been a memorable night for the 12th-year head coach.
The Cougars (16-8, 7-4) and Pilots (9-14, 2-9) will tip off at 7 p.m., and the chief task for Rose, who can become the 25th fastest coach in NCAA Division I history to get to 300 wins, is to get his guys to regroup after one of the most emotionally charged games in recent memory.
If nothing else, BYU salvaged some confidence in the second half after falling behind 40-21 through 18 minutes. The Cougars righted the ship by scoring on three straight possessions before halftime, then carried that momentum into the second half, trailing by only six points with under two minutes remaining in the game before Gonzaga made one final push.
"I hope the guys gained some confidence," Rose said. "It was hard. It was a great opportunity, but you gotta be able to drop it and get on to the next game. Hopefully our guys will be able to do that."
Rose and BYU fans were left wondering what might have been if big man Eric Mika made some shots that he usually makes and Nick Emery had not been dealing with an illness that limited the sophomore guard. Mika went 5 of 15 from the field, and even missed a dunk after a lob pass midway through the first half.
"If you take that first half, break it down, there were probably, I am going to say 7-to-10 shots that we will normally make on any given night, and we just kinda [missed them]," Rose said. "Their size and their physical presence kind of got us out of kilter there, early."
Emery started the second half after not starting the game to end a streak of 52 straight starts. Rose wouldn't say if first-time starter Elijah Bryant or Emery will get the nod Saturday against Portland, which lost 60-45 at home to Santa Clara to leave the Cougars and Broncos tied for third place in the WCC standings.
"We will see," Rose said. "Hopefully Nick is feeling better. But right now, we will just try to play the healthy guys and see what we get."
Among the bright spots Thursday were the effectiveness of BYU's 1-3-1 zone defense and the play of freshman guard TJ Haws, who scored 23 of his career-high 29 points in the second half.
But the bottom line, Rose said, was that Nigel Williams-Goss (33 points) "just kinda controlled the game" and the Cougars dug themselves too big of a hole in the first 15 minutes.
"I thought our guys competed hard, played hard," he said. "But our execution needs to be way better to beat a team like that."
Twitter: @drewjay —
Portland at BYU
P At the Marriott Center, Provo
Tipoff • 7 p.m.
TV • BYUtv
Radio • 1160 AM, 102.7 FM, Sirius XM 143
Records • BYU (16-8, 7-4 WCC); Portland • (9-14, 2-9 WCC)
Series history • BYU leads, 14-2
Last meeting • BYU 99, Portland 81 (Jan. 25, 2016)
About the Pilots • Jazz Johnson and Gabe Taylor scored 10 points apiece in Thursday's 60-45 home loss to Santa Clara. … With senior guard Alex Wintering (19.5 ppg.) having suffered a season-ending knee injury, Johnson now leads them in scoring with a 16.2 average. … Taylor is the leading rebounder (5.6 rpg.) and second-leading scorer (11.8 ppg.). … Former NBA star Terry Porter is in his first season as head coach.
About the Cougars • TJ Haws scored a career-high 29 points in Thursday's 85-75 loss to No. 1 Gonzaga and has scored 10 or more points in 17 games this season. … Freshman Yoeli Childs scored 11 points and has reached double figures in scoring eight times. … Sophomore C Eric Mika scored in double figures for the 25th straight game and posted his 14th double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.