I’m just so happy, so pumped. We were down eight at half and fought our way back and rallied in the second half. – Tyler Haws
PORTLAND, Ore. — BYU has a new all-time scoring king, and another big win.
Senior Tyler Haws’ layup with 14:39 left in the first half against Portland Thursday night at the Chiles Center, also known as the "Palace on the Bluff," made him BYU’s all-time leading scorer.
The trouble for the Cougars on this historic night was they trailed by eight points at halftime against the Pilots.
While the first half will be remembered for Haws’ record-breaker, the second half will be remembered for Skyler Halford's role in BYU’s second-half comeback as the Cougars earned an 82-69 victory over the Pilots before a crowd of 3,743 at the Chiles Center.
“I’m just so happy, so pumped,” said Haws, who finished with a game-high 21 points. “We were down eight at half and fought our way back and rallied in the second half.”
The Cougars battled back behind Halford’s 16-point second-half barrage. He finished with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point territory.
With the win, BYU (22-8, 12-5) kept its slim NCAA tournament hopes alive. It marked the Cougars' fifth consecutive victory.
Of course Haws’ feat would have been bittersweet had the Cougars lost.
Entering Thursday, Haws needed seven points to surpass Jimmer Fredette as BYU’s all-time leading scorer. Last time he played in Portland, last year, Haws poured in a career-high 48 points in a triple-overtime loss to the Pilots.
Fredette finished his memorable career with 2,599 points. Haws now has 2,614 points.
Haws tied Fredette at the 15:44 mark of the first half on a runner, then made history less than one minute later when he took a pass from freshman Ryan Andrus as he drove down the middle of the lane for a layup.
“I never thought Ryan Andrus would give me the assist for it,” Haws said. “I’m sure I’ll appreciate it a lot more after the season. To have my name at the top of that list is a pretty cool thing.”
BYU fans cheered loudly when he scored the layup, and some held up signs commemorating the achievement. No, Haws didn’t break the record inside the friendly confines of the Marriott Center, but with thousands of Cougar supporters in attendance, at times it sounded like it happened in Provo.
“I thought I was at a home game,” Haws said. “The crowd was going crazy for a whole possession. It was pretty special. I’m proud to be at BYU and experience all that I’ve experienced.”
“I was happy for him,” coach Dave Rose said of Haws. “I almost felt like we should call timeout (after the record-breaker) and everybody take a breath and say, ‘OK, that thing’s done.’ It came in the flow in the game. It came at a great time. Ty gets us off to good starts almost all the time. I’m happy for him and his family.”
“To see all his hard work pay off is beautiful,” Halford said of Haws’ record. “He’s a great person and he deserves it.”
Meanwhile, guard Kyle Collinsworth nearly set the NCAA career record for triple-doubles. Collinsworth finished with 15 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Despite Haws’ historic first half, Portland controlled the opening 20 minutes. Portland led at halftime, 41-33.
“Coach was pretty fired up at halftime,” Haws said. “We just played aggressive. We took the fight to them in the second half. We just played really hard. … We were pretty down at halftime and we wanted to fix it.”
The Cougars opened with a 7-0 run to start the half, then took a six-point lead at the 13-minute mark as they played better defense and made shots.
BYU shot 34 percent in the first half and 55 percent in the second.
“In the second half, our guys were really determined,” Rose said. “We made some shots coming out of the half that got some momentum for us, but we were a lot more aggressive. A lot of fouls were called, but we played through it all. Our guys answered the bell. It was good.”
“That second half was a completely different feeling than the first half for us,” Halford said. “We were a lot more intense and we were playing together. We played with passion and heart. It was fun.”
Haws’ record-breaking shot tied the game at 12-apiece, but Portland led most of the first half.
Pilot guard Bryce Pressley scored 16 points in the first half, including 4-of-4 from 3-point territory. Meanwhile, BYU struggled to hit shots. The Cougars shot a miserable 34 percent over the first 20 minutes. Anson Winder, Kyle Collinsworth and Chase Fischer were a combined 4-of-19 from the floor.
A 3-pointer by Winder gave BYU a 33-32 lead with 3:30 left. From there, Portland finished the half on a 9-0 run to go into the locker room with a 41-33 advantage at intermission.
BYU visits No. 3 Gonzaga Saturday.