Haws, Cougars dominating Virginia Tech at the half in EnergySolutions Arena

SALT LAKE CITY — At EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, the BYU Cougars lead the Virginia Tech Hokies 56-31 at the end of the first half.

Through 13 minutes and 43 seconds of the contest, however, it was Tyler Haws 26, Virginia Tech 25.

Putting on a Jimmer-esque performance, Haws went 9-for-13 from the field, or 69 percent from the field. He also shot 77.7 percent, going 7-for-9, from behind the 3-point line, and made five of six free throws. Haws, at one point, was 9-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from 3-point range.

Besides Haws, BYU is led in scoring by Brandon Davies. Davies ended the first half with 13 points, going 3-for-3 from the field and 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed three rebounds.

BYU started the game strong with back-to-back Haws 3-pointers and a Brandon Davies hoop-and-harm 3-point play before Virginia Tech managed to score. Haws and the BYU Cougars started off the game on a 14-2 run, and Tech never got within 10 points for the remainder of the first half.

BYU's defense also played particularly well. Tech's Erick Green, the nation's leading Division 1 scorer, averages 25.4 points per game, but went 2-for-9 in the first half and only managed to score 7 points.

Virginia Tech was led in first half scoring by Jarell Eddie, who scored 9 points, shooting 2-for-7 from the field.

This is the second game that BYU has played in EnergySolutions Arena this year. The previous game was a 85-60 victory vs. Montana on Nov. 28, 2012.

The game is broadcast locally on KSL-FM radio and nationally on ESPNU TV.

Landon Hemsley is the sports content manager for DeseretNews.com. Email: lhemsley@deseretnews.com. Twitter: @EarlOfHemsley