3 keys in the BYU Cougars’ 72-63 win over the San Francisco Dons

BYU turned a one-time 10-point deficit into another solid road victory by rallying to beat San Francisco 72-63 at War Memorial Gym on Saturday.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

• The Cougars (11-3, 2-1 West Coast Conference) trailed 47-44 with 8:04 to play — and had trailed by as many as eight earlier in the second half and 10 in the first half — but a momentum-changing run gave BYU the cushion for the win. The Cougars went on a 24-4 run over the next seven minutes to build a 68-51 lead, which included eight straight points from Richard Harward, 11 points from Alex Barcello and five from Matt Haarms. This came after BYU finished a win over Saint Mary’s two days earlier on a 19-2 run.

• BYU held the Dons (9-7, 3-3 WCC) to 38.1% shooting in the game, while the Cougars shot 44.8% from the field — that included BYU shooting 51.7% in the second half. BYU also had a sizable advantage at the free-throw line — the Cougars made 15 of 18, San Francisco hit 2 of 3 — as Barcello led BYU with 19 points. Khalil Shabazz scored 30 points and hit eight 3-pointers in the loss.
• The Cougars dominated in the paint, owning a 45-28 rebounding edge that led to a 40-18 advantage in points in the paint. Harward had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, Gideon George added 12 points and Haarms put up nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.